Category: Projects

All images: MMG.  BY ELIZABETH FABRI FIRST zinc concentrate production began in November last year at the $US570 million Dugald River mine. Since then, the MMG team and its contractors have been working at warp speed to reach the next milestone; commercial production. We spoke with Dugald River general manager Pierre Malan about how a “leap of faith” during the downturn enabled the project to be achieved ahead of schedule and under budget. Q. How is ramp up progressing and how close you are to reaching commercial production?   The project has been going really well. With commissioning ahead of schedule last year, we are, overall, still tracking under budget and ahead of schedule. Late last year we started production…

The Bald Hill processing plant took just seven months to be commissioned. All images: Tawana Resources. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND AUSTRALIA’S newest lithium mine, the Bald Hill joint venture (JV), kicked off production in March. With a burgeoning electric vehicle market spearheading demand for lithium-ion batteries, Tawana Resources is already pushing full steam ahead with expansion plans. Lithium production has commenced at the Bald Hill lithium-tantalum mine in the Eastern Goldfields region of WA. Bald Hill, a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between operator Tawana and Singapore-listed Alliance Mineral Assets Limited (AMAL), is the first Australian mine to commence spodumene production since Galaxy Resources’ Mt Cattlin in 2016. Bald Hill was originally a tantalum project operated by Cannington Mines between 2002 and 2005.…

All images: Dacian Gold. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND THERE’S a lot to like about the rapid development of Dacian Gold’s Mt Morgans gold project. The miner has set a vigorous pace on the road to production, already coming in under its initial project cost by $23 million. Production from Dacian Gold’s flagship $197 million Mt Morgans project near Laverton, WA is expected to start this month, less than three years after the Dacian board approved its development. The fast-tracked gold project has been Dacian’s sole focus since its $20m initial public offering (IPO) onto the ASX in 2012. At that time, Mt Morgans had a resource base of 840,000 ounces (oz) of gold. In the years that followed, exploration work uncovered…

BY CAMERON DRUMMOND WITH discounts for lower quality iron ore increasing, Carpentaria Resources’ Hawsons project – the highest grade undeveloped iron ore project in the world – is ready to capitalise on growing demand from Chinese steelmakers for high grade product. We spoke with Carpentaria managing director Quentin Hill about the project’s Supergrade® product and his outlook on the future of the iron ore market. Q: How is Carpentaria’s Hawsons iron ore project progressing? We drilled the first hole in 2009, and released Hawsons first resource in 2010. It is a $US1.4 billion development cost over an 18-month period, and will produce an initial 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of 70 per cent Fe Supergrade ore for  projected annual revenue of…

All Images: Northern Minerals. BY CAMERON DRUMMOND NORTHERN Minerals’ Browns Range heavy rare earth (HRE) project is underway, with a Stage 1 pilot plant near completion amidst big plans to meet the growing demand for dysprosium. 160KM south east of Halls Creek in northern WA, Browns Range represents an opportunity for Australia to become a leading producer of dysprosium outside China. The little-read-about element is crucial to the manufacture of permanent magnets and a fundamental ingredient in high-torque motors used in wind turbines as well as electric vehicles, which use about 100 grams of the HRE. Dysprosium makes magnets last longer and retain efficiency at extremely high temperatures. It also makes up part of the control rods used in nuclear…

All images: Gold Fields Australia. BY REUBEN ADAMS CONSTRUCTION work is ramping up at the $532 million Gruyere gold project, 200km east of Laverton in WA. For South African-based Gold Fields, which holds a 50 per cent stake in the project with Gold Road Resources, Gruyere represents the newest chapter in a long, influential – but relatively low profile – history in the WA gold sector. A January update has underscored the massive scope of this 270,000 ounce per annum (ozpa) project, which remains on budget and on track to pour first gold in early 2019. In the December quarter, the Gruyere JV awarded a key five-year, $400 million mining services contract to Downer EDI Mining, which will begin construction…

All images: Roy Hill. BY ELIZABETH FABRI AT last – the $10 billion Roy Hill mine has hit its 55 million tonne per annum run rate. After overcoming significant orebody challenges during ramp up, the miner is now posting tidy profits as it nears the end of a 90 day lenders test to demonstrate sustainable levels of production. It has been a rocky road to full production for Roy Hill since sending off its first shipment in December 2015. Teething issues encountered with the orebody caused a series of delays, pushing what was originally scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016, back until late 2017. It was a tough time for the miner, but after much perseverance and…