Image: Northparkes Mines.
BY ELIZABETH FABRI
CHINA Molybdenum Company (CMOC) and Sumitomo have greenlit a new $200 million block cave mine at their Northparkes copper and gold project in Central West NSW.
The mine – E26 Lift 1 North (E26L1N) – was expected to enter production mid-2022 and produce about 40 million tonnes of ore over 10-years.
E26L1N would include 11km of underground development, an underground primary crusher, conveying systems and associated infrastructure.
CMOC executive chairman and chief executive Steele Li said the joint venture partners were “really excited to see this project come to fruition and to watch Northparkes continue to develop and grow”.
“Northparkes plays a pivotal role in our strong and long-term presence in Australia as an internationally renowned mining company,” Mr Li said.
Northparkes acting managing director Hubert Lehman said Northparkes was the first mine in Australia to use the block cave mining method and this new mine was a major investment.
“We know the exploration potential of Northparkes and we believe we will discover more copper and gold deposits to take us even further into the future,” Mr Lehman said.
“Northparkes is the world’s most automated underground block-cave mine and we are proud of our history and achievements.
“The mine has been operating for 24 years and we have a vision of a century of mining together, here in NSW’s Central West.”
During peak construction the project would employ up to 180 people made up of direct employees and contractors.
