Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Underground |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
- Longitudinal open stoping
- Sub-level open stoping (SLOS)
- Transverse open stoping
- Avoca
- Paste backfill
|
Production Start | ...  |
Mine Life | 20 years (as of Jan 1, 2021) |
Dugald River is one of the world’s top 10 zinc operations. |
Source:
p. 30, 148,198
Company | Interest | Ownership |
MMG Ltd.
|
100 %
|
Indirect
|
The Dugald River mine is an underground zinc-leadsilver deposit and a wholly owned by a subsidiary of MMG Limited. MMG Dugald River Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the MMG Limited.
Contractors
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Deposit Type
- Breccia pipe / Stockwork
- Sediment-hosted
Summary:
The Dugald River style of mineralisation is a sedimentary and shear hosted base metal deposit. The main sulphides are sphalerite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and galena with minor arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, pyrargyrite, marcasite and alabandite.
The deposit is located within a 3km-4km along strike north-south trending high strain domain named the Mount Roseby Corridor and is hosted by steeply dipping mid Proterozoic sediments of the Mary Kathleen Zone in the Eastern Succession of the Mount Isa Inlier. The host sequence is composed of the Knapdale Quartzite and the Mount Roseby Schist Group (which includes the Hangingwall calc-silicate unit, the Dugald River Slate and the Lady Clayre Dolomite). The sequence is an interbedded package of greenschist to amphibolite grade metamorphosed carbonate and siliclastic lithologies.
The main Dugald River lode is hosted within a major N-S striking steeply west dipping shear zone which cross cuts the strike of the Dugald River Slate stratigraphy at a low angle. All significant zinc-lead-silver mineralisation is restricted to the main lode. Lesser-mineralised hanging wall and footwall lenses are present. Three main mineralisation textures/types are recognised, including banded, slatey breccia, and massive breccia.
The geometry of the deposit consists of the boudinaged main lens, which pinches and swells in thickness along strike and to depth. It is recognised that the previously modelled hangingwall and footwall domains (1A, 2, 3, 4 ........

Mining Methods
- Longitudinal open stoping
- Sub-level open stoping (SLOS)
- Transverse open stoping
- Avoca
- Paste backfill
Summary:
Mining at Dugald River is planned to be underground with the long-hole open stoping method favoured. Currently the deposit is accessed by two declines.
The orebody access is split into a north and south mine, due to its 2 km strike length and a low-grade zone at the extremities of the orebody.
The north mine is narrow (average ~5 m true width) and sub-vertical. The south mine is wider than the north mine with a flexural zone in the centre. The south mine is narrow and steep in the upper zone (~top 200 m from surface) and lower zone (~below 700 m from surface). The central zone is flatter and thicker than the upper and lower zones.
Mining methods for the mine are Sub-Level Open Stopes (SLOS) both Longitudinal and Transverse in the South Mine and modified Avoca stoping or Core & Shell stopes with rib pillars in the North Mine. Level intervals occur every 25m and stopes have a strike length of 15m.
The stopes are broken into the following categories:
- Longitudinal SLOS, for stopes upto 10-15m wide horizontally. (Where the orebody has thickened adjacent stopes are mined in sequence after paste filling);
- Transverse SLOS, for stopes where the orebody thickness lends itself to sequential stope extraction retreating along cross-cuts;
- Crown pillar SLOS, for the top level of each panel where stoping occurs directly below a previously mined area;
- Modified Avoca stopes/Core & Shell Stopes for the North Mine.
Source:

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Flow Sheet:
Summary:

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Reserves at June 30, 2021:
The 2021 Mineral Resource has been reported above an A$142/t NSR (net smelter return) cut-off.
Mineral Reserve cut-off grade is based on Net Smelter Return (NSR) after Royalties, expressed as a dollar value ($A) of dependant on the area of the mine ranging from $A130/t to $A150/t.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven & Probable
|
24 Mt
|
Zinc
|
10.6 %
|
2,500 kt
|
Proven & Probable
|
24 Mt
|
Lead
|
1.7 %
|
410 kt
|
Proven & Probable
|
24 Mt
|
Silver
|
44 g/t
|
33 M oz
|
Inferred
|
4.5 Mt
|
Copper
|
1.5 %
|
68 kt
|
Inferred
|
4.5 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.1 g/t
|
0.02 M oz
|
Total Resource
|
66 Mt
|
Zinc
|
11.7 %
|
7,700 kt
|
Total Resource
|
66 Mt
|
Lead
|
1.3 %
|
830 kt
|
Total Resource
|
66 Mt
|
Silver
|
26 g/t
|
55 M oz
|
HME Type | Model | Size | Quantity | Leased or Contractor | Ref. Date |
Cable bolter
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Jun 30, 2021
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Drill (long hole)
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Dec 22, 2022
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Drill jumbo (two boom)
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Jun 30, 2021
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Loader
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Jun 30, 2021
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Loader - Tool Carrier
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Jun 30, 2021
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Shotcreter
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Jun 30, 2021
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Trans Mixer
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Jun 30, 2021
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Truck (dump)
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Jun 30, 2021
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Truck (underground)
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63 t
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Dec 22, 2022
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