 Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) has resumed export sales.){kind=link}
GEMCO back on track
Marking a milestone in its recovery, South32’s (ASX: S32) Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) has resumed export sales.
As one of the largest manganese ore producers in the world, the more than yearlong halt in operations caused significant disruptions to supply chains both domestically and internationally.
Export sales are expected to increase from the site, located in the Northern Territory, over the next few months before returning to normalised rates in the new financial year.
Mining pits at the site were flooded and infrastructure was extensively damaged, following Tropical Cyclone Megan, which produced record rainfall and some of the strongest winds recorded in more than 20 years in the region.
Recovery activities began as soon as the area was deemed safe and involved dewatering pits and repairing or replacing damaged infrastructure.
The GEMCO team also worked closely with the broader Groote Eylandt community to support their recovery following the storm. Efforts focused on repairing key infrastructure, enabling the delivery of supplies and the restoration of essential services in the area.
GEMCO estimates that more than 317,000 hours were invested in the wharf recovery and rebuild, with more than 970t of steel and 740t of concrete removed from the seabed. A critical bridge connecting the northern pits of the Western Leases mining area and the processing plant was also rebuilt.
South32 chief operating officer Vanessa Torres says that this is a major milestone in GEMCO’s recovery and follows many months of tireless work.
“Tropical Cyclone Megan severely impacted operations at GEMCO, requiring a recovery effort of immense scale and complexity,” she said.
“Our teams have done an outstanding job in rebuilding damaged infrastructure and preparing to resume export sales, and I’d like to thank everyone that has been involved to date, including the Anindilyakwa Land Council (ALC) and the Northern Territory Government for their support.
“Throughout this activity, we’ve remained focused on the safety and wellbeing of our workforce and the Groote Eylandt community, including by supporting the community with their recovery efforts.”