The Jaguar Operation is a cluster of Volcanic Massive Sulphides (VMS) deposits located within the Gindalbie Terrane, a part of the late Archaean Eastern Goldfields Superterrane of the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. The area is dominated by volcanic and lesser sedimentary and intrusive rocks that have undergone tilting to sub-vertical positions. Regional metamorphism is lower greenschist facies.

The three principal deposits forming the known VMS cluster are Bentley, Jaguar and Teutonic Bore. The deposits have formed by sub-seafloor replacement, principally of shales and volcanoclastic sediments with mineralisation located in a similar stratigraphic position near a transition from calc-alkaline to tholeiitic volcanism.

The Bentley mineralisation occurs at the contact of a thick basal rhyolitic sequence with an overlying andesite. The rhyolitic sequence is overlain by a sediment unit comprising carbonaceous mudstones and siltstones.

The Bentley massive sulphide mineralisation is banded and consists of pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and minor pyrrhotite. The upper contact of the massive sulphide is typically sharp. The footwall to massive sulphide consists typically of stringer and disseminated sulphide mineralisation comprising pyrite, chalcopyrite and minor sphalerite.

The Jaguar Operation is an owner-operated underground mine, that predominately uses long-hole stoping with backfill. Ore is hauled to the surface using dump trucks and then transported to the nearby Jaguar Mill for processing.

Processing metods: Single stage crushing, SAG/Ball milling.

All ore is processed at the Jaguar concentrator, producing both a copper concentrate and a zinc concentrate, which is trucked to the port of Geraldton for export. The copper concentrate contains significant levels of silver and gold as by-products, which attract precious metal credits that contribute significantly to the Group’s revenues and cash flows. The zinc concentrate has minor amounts of silver in its concentrate.

Processing metods: Single stage crushing, SAG/Ball milling, differential flotation and filtration.