Tag: MMG

THE production guidance for the Cloncurry-based Dugald River mine is set at 175,00t of zinc in concentrate for 2019, despite extreme wet weather and flooding events in North Queensland during the first quarter. MMG chief executive officer Geoffrey Gao said the impact of severe flooding events around Dugald River and the Cloncurry to Townsville rail corridor in February temporarily impacted production and concentrate transport during the quarter. “Alternate trucking arrangements and the opening of a temporary rail transfer facility at Hughenden has restored access to Townsville port,” Mr Gao said. MMG began loading onto rail at a temporary rail transfer facility at Hughenden, about halfway from Cloncurry to the Townsville Port, on April 15. Following track repairs, rail operations are...

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...

MMG’s Dugald River zinc mine near Cloncurry, QLD. Image: MMG.   BY CAMERON DRUMMOND   INITIATIVES by the Queensland Government to boost exploration and support employment diversification aim to attract investment and protect employment in the region from the cyclical nature of the resources sector. However some feel that addressing high energy prices as a priority may do more to lift North West QLD’s economy.   Covering 10 local government areas, the 375,000sqkm North West Minerals Province (NWMP) contains major copper, lead, zinc, silver and phosphate deposits and well defined rare earths potential. The NWMP is home to about 34,500 residents, mostly based in Mt Isa, with 60 per cent of jobs that directly or indirectly support the mining industry. The...

Grange Resources’ historic Savage River magnetite mine. Image: Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   LEFT behind during the mining boom while other State’s prospered, Tasmania is on its way back with a string of mine reopenings signalling renewed confidence for the sector.   After battling tough, the Tasmanian mining sector is making a return. Unlike its mainland counterparts, Tasmania was hurt by a resources boom side-effect; the strong Australian dollar. With an economy heavily reliant on trade exposed industries, Tasmania felt the sting when the Australian dollar surpassed the US dollar in 2010/2011, and then when commodity prices tumbled. “The high Australian dollar (we all remember when it hit $1.10 U.S) was a drag on all...

The Dugald River tailings storage facility dam wall. All images: MMG.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   A SURGE in zinc demand over the last 12 months has MMG well placed as its $1.4 billion Dugald River mine nears first shipment in December, several months ahead of schedule.   Sitting on one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc-lead-silver deposits, Dugald River will come online at an opportune time for MMG as it works towards its goal of becoming a top mid-tier mining company by 2020. It will be a game changer; once Dugald River enters production MMG will add a further 170,000 tonnes of zinc (at peak) to its group production a year. This represents a sizeable increase on current group...

MMG Dugald River mine portal entrance. Image: MMG. By Elizabeth Fabri MINERALS & Metals Group’s (MMG) zinc powerhouse Dugald River couldn’t enter production at a more convenient time. With a little over a year left on the clock, the project was now more than 40 per cent complete and on track to achieve first production early 2018 amid a global zinc deficit. Located in Queensland, 85km northeast of Mount Isa and 65km northwest of Cloncurry, Dugald River sits on one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc-lead-silver deposits. The $1.4 billion project had been on the drawing board for some time, but wasn’t progressed until July 2015 when an updated development plan was approved. Not wasting any time, MMG began construction in...

Mining at Kinsevere in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Cameron Drummond AFTER the record breaking purchase of the Las Bambas copper project in Peru, MMG has had a reasonably quiet 18 months consolidating and improving existing projects. MMG Limited is a Chinese-owned (China Minmetals 74 per cent) mining consortium listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and ASX with copper, zinc and other base metal projects across four continents. MMG aims to become one of the top mid-tier miners by 2020 by investing in significant exploration and development projects such as the Las Bambas copper operation in Peru, aquired from Swiss-based miner Glencore for $US5.85 billion in 2014. The company also owns the Sepon and Kinsevere copper mines in Southern...