Prominent Hill life extended to at least 2028

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Copper and gold miner Oz Minerals has released a new mine plan for its Prominent Hill operation, in South Australia, which will see the mine operate through to at least 2028.

The company told shareholders on Tuesday that underground production at Prominent Hill would increase from a rate of between 2-million and 2.2-million tonnes a year, to between 3.5-million and 4-million tonnes a year by 2019, with mining costs projected to be in the bottom half of the cost curve.

The increase would see the Prominent Hill processing plant continue to operate at the current capacity of up to ten-million tonnes a year until mid-2023, by processing stockpiles and underground ore, prior to running full time at a milling capacity of between 3.5-million and 4-million tonnes to 2028.

Oz Minerals CEO Andrew Cole said that the projected capital costs to de-rate the plant to the lower 4-million-tonne-a-year capacity were expected to be some A$5-million.

Cole said that the new mine plan provided a definitive statement about the strong future of the Prominent Hill operation.

“This is a long-life asset that will continue to deliver revenue as proposed new projects come on stream. The mine life extension to at least 2028 directly benefits local communities and shareholders. It will boost the region’s economic development and refutes any perception that Prominent Hill faces a short-term future.”

Cole said that given Oz Minerals was continuing resource-to-reserve conversion drilling, there was also the potential for further extensions to the timeline.

“While the openpit will ramp down, the ore stockpiles we continue to build, and the growth in our underground mining operations ,will see Prominent Hill remain one of Australia’s largest sources of copper.”

Meanwhile, Oz Minerals reported a 40% increase in the underground ore reserves at Prominent Hill, driven by ongoing drill programmes, mine planning initiatives, and a reduction in the cutoff grade.

The project is estimated to host a total copper mineral resource of 148-million tonnes and 25-million tonnes of gold resource, while copper and gold reserves are estimated at a combined 75-million tonnes.