Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
Issue link: https://emj.epubxp.com/i/981569
REGIONAL NEWS - AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA 16 E&MJ; • MAY 2018 www.e-mj.com Carrapateena Receives Final Approvals The Australia federal and South Australia state governments have issued the final approvals required for OZ Minerals to proceed with Phase 2 construction of its underground, sublevel-cave Carrapateena copper-gold mine in South Australia, and OZ has awarded the contract for the con- struction to Downer EDI Ltd. Phase 1 construction at Carrapateena began in September 2017 and includes enabling infrastructure such as the 550- bed accommodation village and the air- strip. Development of a dual-access de- cline to reach the underground mining areas is also ongoing. Phase 2 construction will include the processing plant, tailings storage facility, underground materials handling system, access roads, and power line. The ap- proximately 6.5-year contract is valued at A$660 million. The Carrapateena project is planned to produce an average of 65,000 metric tons per year (mt/y) of copper and 67,000 ounces per year (oz/y) of gold in concen- trates over a mine life of 20 years. Pre-pro- duction development costs are forecast at about A$916 million. Commissioning is planned for the fourth quarter of 2019. The Carrapateena Mining Lease issued by the South Australia state government and the Environmental Protection and Bio- diversity Conservation Act (EPBC) approval issued by the federal government conclude the primary approvals required for the pro- ject. A Native Title Mining Agreement be- tween OZ and the Kokatha Aboriginal Corp. was signed in September 2017. "Receiving the Mining Lease and EPBC approval is the product of signifi- cant effort on the part of the state govern- ment working closely with the federal de- partment to ensure this project received a robust and thorough review," OZ Minerals CEO Andrew Cole said. "We greatly ap- preciate the efforts of both parties. "We have also had our detailed oper- ational plan (Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation) approved by the South Australian government, rep- resenting the conclusion of a significant amount of work on behalf of government departments." The Carrapateena project is located approximately 160 km north of Port Au- gusta, South Australia. The life-of-mine mining rate is planned at 4.25 million mt/y of run-of-mine ore. The ore reserve estimate currently stands at 79 million mt at a copper equivalent grade of 2.31%. Western Areas Starts Early Works Program at Odysseus Western Areas has initiated an early cap- ital works program at its Odysseus nickel project below the previously mined Cos- mos mine in central Western Australia. A definitive feasibility study of the proj- ect is ongoing and due for completion in the third quarter of this year. The project could become the company's third oper- ating mine and second production center. Western Areas currently produces nickel concentrate at it Forrestania oper- ations in southern Western Australia, with production during its fiscal year to June 30 forecast at 21,500 metric tons (mt) to 22,500 mt of nickel in concentrate. The Forrestania operations include the Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll mines and the Cos- mic Boy concentrator. The 18-month early capital works program at the Odysseus project has an estimated cost of A$32 million and is fo- cused on evaporation ponds, mine camp readiness, dewatering and decline reha- bilitation. A tender process for the larger work packages has begun. Key govern- ment approvals are in place. Western Areas Managing Director Dan Lougher stated that the company's count- er-cyclical decision to purchase Cosmos in late 2015 is now crystallizing into a signif- icant organic-growth project. "We are very excited by both the Odysseus project and the regional exploration potential that the greater Cosmos nickel complex demon- strates in both base and precious met- als," said Lougher. "We have taken this decision to commence early works prior to the release of the definitive feasibility study due to our confidence in the overall project and just as importantly, our confi- dence in the nickel sulphide market. "The demand for Class 1 nickel sul- phides in the battery and electric vehicle (EV) market is forecast to grow substan- tially over coming years. We believe that Odysseus is one of a very few select nick- el sulphide projects that will be coming into production in a timeframe that will enable it to deliver into that growing de- mand profile." The early works program at Odysseus will be developed in three stages. The first stage will include refurbishment of existing evaporation ponds, pipeline upgrades and continuation of pit dewatering. The exist- ing mine camp, with a 520-person capac- ity, will be upgraded to readiness to cater for up to 100 contractors and employees. The second stage will involve construc- tion of two new evaporation ponds and de- watering of the decline, and the third stage will encompass infrastructure required to support the rehabilitation of the decline from the portal to 500 m below surface. The Forrestania operations include the Spotted Quoll mine (above).