The Macraes Operation includes the Coronation, Coronation North, Innes Mills, Deepdell and Frasers open pits, Frasers (FRUG) and Golden Point (GPUG) underground mines, and an adjacent processing plant including a pressure oxidation plant for the processing of sulphide ore.
Open Pit
Mining at Macraes has come from thirteen pits comprising (from north to south), Coronation North, Coronation, Deepdell North, Deepdell South, Golden Point, Northwest Pit, Round Hill, Southern Pit, Innes Mills, Innes Mills West, Frasers, Golden Ridge and Golden Bar. Current operations are based in Deepdell North, Innes Mills, Innes Mills and Gay Tan pits. The Round Hill, and Southern pits were mined to what were their economic limits. Round Hill pits has been backfilled, and Southern Pit was used for tailings disposal. The bulk of the future open pit tonnage from Macraes will be sourced from Gay Tan, Deepdell North, Innes Mills, and Round Hill deposits.
Open pit mining at Macraes is carried out by Company personnel using owned mining equipment.
During 2022, several technical risks associated with the Round Hill Open Pit (RHOP) were investigated due to its location adjacent to the Mixed Tailings Impoundment (MTI) embankment wall and the requirement, should it be mined, to relocate another ‘in-pit’ tailings facility. Risks identified to date include geotechnical, operational and scheduling risks; the latter associated with the previously assumed re-mining of tail ........
