Overview
| Status | Care and Maintenance |
| Mine Type | Underground |
| Commodities |
|
| Mining Method |
|
| Production Start | ...  |
| Mine Life | 10 years (as of Jan 1, 2022) |
The operations of Mt Lyell copper mine were suspended in January 2014 following a mud slide incident and were put into care and maintenance since 09 July 2014 following a rockfall incident in June 2014.
On 27 October 2021 New Century entered into an option agreement with Vedanta Ltd for the acquisition of Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Ltd, owner of the Mt Lyell Copper Mine.
During the option period, the Group will investigate the refurbishment or replacement of the existing infrastructure for tailings reprocessing, with subsequent integration of in-situ ore processing to follow. The Option Agreement includes a minimum expenditure commitment by the Company of US$10 million over the option period towards development and exploration, in addition to the capped reimbursement of care and maintenance costs of US$13 million. |
Source:
p. 116
New Century executed an Option Agreement with Monte Cello B.V. (MCBV), a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited (Vedanta) for the acquisition of Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Ltd (CMT), owner of the Mt Lyell Copper Mine (Mt Lyell) in Tasmania.
The Option Agreement followed the Group’s announcement on 27 October 2021 that it had entered into a binding term sheet to acquire CMT from MCBV following a two-year period to evaluate the potential for restart of operations at Mt Lyell. The option period commenced on 5 November 2021. Should the option to acquire be exercised, the acquisition consideration will be by way of a capped royalty paid over time from the operations.
Contractors
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Summary:
The regional and local geology of the Project area is well understood having a long exploration and development history. Stratigraphically the oldest rocks are the Cambrian aged sequence containing locally the Tyndall Group, Central Volcanic Complex, Yolande River Sequence and andesitic volcanics and intrusives. These are overlain by the late Cambrian-Ordovician aged Owen group and Silurian aged Eldon Group. Quaternary/Tertiary deposits, including glacials, complete the regional geological sequence.
Prince Lyell -Deeps/North Flank/D Panel/Royal Tharsis
The footwall of the mineralisation at the Prince Lyell Deeps is defined by the Great Lyell Fault, which juxtaposes the Cambrian volcanic host rocks against a later Cambro-Ordivician sedimentary sequence. The Great Lyell Fault truncates the mineralisation at depth.
The mineralisation consists of disseminated to veinlet pyrite-chalcopyrite hosted within strongly altered and schistose volcanic rocks. Alteration consists of a chlorite-pyrite+/-magnetite core surrounded by a muscovite pyrite envelope. The North Flank/D Panel and Royal Tharsis mineralisation and alteration is similar to the Prince Lyell, however the former has a stronger stratigraphic control.
Dimensions:
Prince Lyell North Flank: the resource has dimensions of 490 m in height, 1,500 to 2,090 mRL (2,000 mRL represents sea level and the surface is approximately 420 m above sea level). The strike length of the resource is up ........
Summary:
Confirmed suitability of sublevel caving (SLC) mining method for future underground operations – successfully utilised at Mt Lyell since 1995.
Source:
Summary:
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Production:
In fiscal 2013, Cooper concentrate also contained 14,197 ounces of gold and 131,376 ounces of silver.
| Commodity | Product | Units | 2014 | 2013 |
|
Copper
|
Metal in concentrate
|
t
| 17,839 | 26,047 |
|
Copper
|
Concentrate
|
kt
| 73 | 107 |
Operational Metrics:
| Metrics | 2014 | 2013 |
|
Ore tonnes mined
| 1,739,223 t | 2,519,464 t |
|
Tonnes processed
| | 2.4 Mt |
Reserves at June 30, 2022:
The Ore Reserve estimate is based on a cut-off grade of 0.75% Cu.
The Mineral Resources estimate is based on a cut-off grade of 0.2% - 0.8% Cu.
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
|
Probable
|
23.9 Mt
|
Copper
|
1.03 %
|
246 kt
|
|
Probable
|
23.9 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.26 g/t
|
198 koz
|
|
Probable
|
23.9 Mt
|
Copper Equivalent
|
1.14 %
|
|
|
Total Resource
|
140.3 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.84 %
|
1,176 kt
|
|
Total Resource
|
140.3 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.22 g/t
|
955 koz
|
|
Total Resource
|
140.3 Mt
|
Copper Equivalent
|
0.93 %
|
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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