• Data Access
  • Your Email  
  • Your Email  
Keep me signed in.
Forgot your password?
Close
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Enter the email you signed up with and we'll email it to you.
  • Your Email  
Close
Back
MDO
Mining Data Solutions
  • Home
  • Database
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
Australia
Wodgina Mine

This page is not tailored to
devices with screen width under 750 px.
 Location:
53 km S from South Hedland, Western Australia, Australia

  Address:
1 Sleat Road
Applecross
Western Australia, Australia
6153
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax+61-8-9329-3601
WebsiteWeb
Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors
Drill results over 30 g/t Au
Stay on top of recent discoveries.
Search drill results by commodity and grade.
Largest mines in the Americas
Mining and mill throughput capaciites.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Deepest underground mines
Shaft depth and mill throughput data.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Heavy mobile equipment
HME type, model, size and quantity.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Permitting and construction projects
Projects at the permitting or construction stage. Full profiles of select projects.
Mines with remote camps
Camp size, mine location and contacts.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Mines & projects in Australia
A list of country's mines and projects.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Filings & News

Thank you for browsing through mine profiles compiled by the Mining Data Online team.

Would you like to subcribe or schedule a Demo?
  • Name:
     
  • Company:
     
  • Position:
     
  • Phone:
  • Email:
  • Message:

Overview

StatusCare and Maintenance
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Lithium
  • Iron
  • Spodumene
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life30 years (as of Jan 1, 2017)
Placed into care and maintenance until market demand improves.
Latest NewsAlbemarle to kick off Kemerton expansion in 2021     November 9, 2020


Owners

Source:
CompanyInterestOwnership
Mineral Resources Ltd. 40 % Indirect
Albemarle Corp. 60 % Indirect
Oct. 31, 2019 - Albemarle Corporation announced today that it has closed its transaction with Mineral Resources Limited.

Under the Agreement, Albemarle has acquired a 60% interest in MRL's Wodgina spodumene mine in Western Australia for US$1.3 billion, consisting of a cash payment of US$820 million, and the transfer to MRL of a 40% interest in two 25 ktpa lithium hydroxide conversion trains being built by Albemarle at Kemerton in Western Australia.

The 60/40 joint venture between Albemarle and MRL, respectively, is named MARBL Lithium Joint Venture ("MARBL"). MARBL will manage the operation of the Wodgina mine and the Kemerton conversion trains.

Deposit Type

  • Pegmatite


Summary:

The Wodgina Greenstone Belt is a north to northeast plunging synclinal structure 25km long and 5km wide preserved as a roof pendant separating the Yule and Carlindi granitoid complexes. It is composed principally of interlayered mafic and ultramafic schists and amphibolite, with subordinate komatiite, clastic sediments, BIF and chert. The komatiitic and metasedimentary units within the Wodgina area are tentatively correlated to the Kunagunarrina and Leilira Formations respectively.

Archean volcanic activity and sedimentation was followed by the intrusion of Archean granitic batholiths with consequent deformation and metamorphism of the sequence. Late stage granitic intrusions resulted in the emplacement of simple and complex pegmatite sills and barren quartz veins.

The Wodgina pegmatite district contains a number of prospective pegmatite groups, including the Wodgina Deposit.

The Wodgina lithium mineralisation is hosted within a number of sub-parallel, sub-horizontal, northeast trending pegmatite intrusive bodies which base of the massive pegmatite apparently with a dip at between 5° to 30° to the west- southwest.

At this time individual pegmatites vary in strike length from approximately 200m to 400m. The thinner near surface pegmatites vary from 10m to 30m in thickness, but vary locally from less than 2m to up to 35m thick. The massive basal pegmatite varies from 120m to 200m thick. The pegmatites intrude the mafic volcanic and metasedimentary host rocks of the surrounding greenstone belt.

- The lithium in the Cassiterite Pit and shallower pegmatites occurs as 10 - 30 cm long grey-white spodumene crystals within medium grained pegmatites comprising primarily of quartz, feldspar, spodumene and muscovite. Typically the spodumene crystals are oriented orthogonal to the pegmatite contacts. Some zoning of the pegmatites parallel to the contacts is observed, with higher concentrations of spodumene occurring close to the upper contact. In the massive basal pegmatite, the spodumene is distributed within fine-grained quartz, feldspar, spodumene and muscovite matrix.

A total of 40 separate pegmatite lenses have been interpreted. Individually they extend over strike lengths of between 100m and 1000m; with a project strike extending over 1.4km. Cross strike extents range from 50 to 300m for individual lenses, with vertical thicknesses of the lenses ranging from 5 to 50m.

The pegmatite lenses have been interpreted to a maximum depth of 300m below the surface.

The Li2O area of the resource consists of two main areas of the Cassiterite deposit, respectively 200m x 300m and 100m x 200m.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

Mining is assumed to be by conventional open pit.

The mining operation extracts tantalum bearing pegmatite ores from the Mount Cassiterite and Tinstone open pits.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing


Summary:

The first mining drill and blast operation to deliver high grade lithium DSO occurred on 6 March 2017 with the world’s first shipment of lithium DSO departing Port Hedland on 17 April with 114,000 wet tonnes on board bound for China.

Two mobile crushing plants were installed and commissioned in March 2017 producing the first 100,000 wet tonnes of lithium DSO.

Atlas Iron’s mining and crushing operations ceased at the Wodgina site in April, making available core processing infrastructure to MRL Group for the processing of lithium DSO and allowing a ramp-up in production and exports.


Production:

CommodityUnits20182017
Lithium kwmt  ......  Subscription required720
All production numbers are expressed as ore.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics20182017
Annual mining capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at March 2, 2017:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGrade
Indicated 10.93 Mt Li2O 1.44 %
Indicated 10.93 Mt Iron 1.65 %
Indicated 10.93 Mt Al2O3 15.91 %
Indicated 10.93 Mt Ta2O5 0.03 %
Inferred 54.63 Mt Li2O 1.37 %
Inferred 54.63 Mt Iron 2.09 %
Inferred 54.63 Mt Al2O3 15.26 %
Inferred 54.63 Mt Ta2O5 0.02 %
Total Resource 65.56 Mt Li2O 1.38 %
Total Resource 65.56 Mt Iron 2.02 %
Total Resource 65.56 Mt Al2O3 15.36 %
Total Resource 65.56 Mt Ta2O5 0.02 %


Heavy Mobile Equipment:

Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
Annual Report 2017
Year-end Mineral Reserves 2017
Year-end Mineral Reserves 2017
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Albemarle to kick off Kemerton expansion in 2021 November 9, 2020
Albemarle-MinRes suspend operations at Wodgina November 4, 2019
Albemarle, MinRes to seal $1.2bn Wodgina acquisition October 29, 2019
MinRes builds on Albemarle JV with updated lithium deal August 2, 2019
MinRes sets up Wodgina with Albemarle partnership December 17, 2018

Aerial view:

Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2020 MDO Data Online Inc.