All images: Northparkes Mine
BY: JESSICA CUMMINS
After achieving record breaking results at its mine and ore processing plant last year, Northparkes copper-gold mine expects to see similar results this year as it continues to work towards a century of mining together.
OPERATING for more than two decades, and with mine life now extended through to 2032, the Northparkes operation is well positioned to reach new heights in coming years.
Previously owned by Rio Tinto, the project – which also comprises a farm – sits on 6000 hectares with a 1630ha mining lease.
The joint venture between China Molybdenum and Sumitomo Group broke two production records in the underground mine (producing 6.46 million tonnes of ore) and the ore processing plant (processing 6.51 million tonnes of ore during 2017 ; a feat Northparkes managing director Jim Fowler said the company was proud of.
“We [also] gained government approval for the single flotation project and advanced our understanding of the expansion project and E26L1N, both of which are important to our future,” Mr Fowler said.
“These projects will assist with the longevity of Northparkes, while we work towards our vision of a ‘century of mining’ together.”
Mr Fowler said new technology employed had also increased the mines viability.
“Our driver-less loaders, controlled from the surface, load ore from the draw point and transport it to the underground primary crusher where it is crushed, conveyed and hoisted to the surface,” he said.
“This achievement has been five years in the making and takes people out from underground allowing them to control the loaders from an air-conditioned room on the surface.
“We’re also now seeing production records from our underground mine as one operator can control three loaders at the same time.”
Project Updates
Mr Fowler said the company remained focused on working towards achieving zero harm operations by implementing improvements and new technologies.
Last year, Northparkes transported 134,114 tonnes of copper concentrate by rail and sea to customers overseas in Japan and China, which exceeded the planned shipment volume by 3 per cent.
Mr Fowler said the company also plans to construct a small open pit mine – E31N near
Rosedale and the material it strips would be used to build up the walls.
“The benefit is the gold grade is quite high where were are building E31N. This will be executed in late 2018 or early 2019,” he said.
“Northparkes is having another great year from a production perspective and I remain optimistic that we will have another record breaking year in both the mine and the mill,” he said.
“E26L1N will enable Northparkes to develop an additional underground mine area within the established E26 ore body while also providing for an appropriate operational flexibility as part of ongoing operations.
“The E26L1N Feasibility Study is nearing completion and we are working toward a final investment decision targeted for early 2019.”
Various upgrades and modifications have been proposed for Northparkes ore processing infrastructure, including the construction of an additional ball mill, relocation of supporting site infrastructure (power supply) and construction of a new secondary crushing building.
“This will all be constructed within the current mining lease – we have completed an initial application and gained approval around the pathway forward from the Department of Planning and Environment,” he said.
“The additional secondary crusher will enable us to stockpile the optimal ore size to crush through the ball mills. We will need to offset 2.5 hectares as the land hasn’t been disturbed as of yet.”
The upgrades follow the commissioning of the Rosedale tailings storage facility in July 2016, which was engineered to safely contain tailings from operations.
The sturdy embankments surrounding Rosedale comprise 400,000 cubic metres of clay and a network of pumps and drains put in place to remove moisture, which is recycled into its ore processing plant.
It was estimated the facility would hold 5.6 million tonnes of tailings during stage one of the project.
In 2017 Northparkes transported 134,114 tonnes of copper concentrate by rail and sea to customers
Exploration
Surface drilling programs were undertaken on tenements EL5800, EL5801, EL5323, and ML1247, ML1367, ML1641 during 2017.
A total of 20,300m of surface drilling was completed during the period, comprising 65 holes of diamond core (14,122m), reverse circulation (RC) (5913m) and aircore drilling (265m).
Underground diamond core drilling was also completed in the E26 Lift 1N and the E26 SLC areas (ML1247), comprising 12 holes for 1388m.
A mix of regional drilling programs, near-mine exploration prospects and evaluation targets on the Northparkes mining leases were also undertaken.
The re-assay of historic aircore and RAB drill returns for a broad pathfinder element suite were also conducted; 10,720 residual samples were submitted for re-assay using the ALS 48 element suite (ME-MS61) plus fire assay gold (Au-AA21).
A Year of Change
While the mine performed strongly in 2017, it also experienced a number of complications with the underground equipment and surface infrastructure.
Mr Fowler said its dedicated workforce addressed the issues in a timely manner.
“I am very proud of our track record and ability to adapt to unforeseen challenges as a business,” he said.
“The hard work and dedication of our employees saw record production in the mine and mill again in 2017. “
According to Mr Fowler, 2017 was “a year of change” while the company focused on right sizing its business.
“We went through an organisational restructure – the restructure or ‘right-sizing’ was aimed at making greater use of the assets and to carry Northparkes into the future.
“This involved a small reduction in our workforce numbers, where more than 50 per cent of the individuals affected were re-deployed to other parts of the business.
“These efforts have helped progress the vision of ‘A century of mining together’ and position Northparkes as a low-cost, long-term producer of copper and gold.”
This year Mr Fowler said Northparkes was focused on expanding its employee pipeline as well as ensuring its commitment to zero harm by caring for its people, equipment, environment and the community in which it works.
“We are having another strong production year and are on target to achieve full year copper ore production guidance,” he said.
