The Copper Mountain Mining Eva project in North West Queensland is one of three major new copper projects to come online in the coming years, a new government report says
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The Resources and Energy Quarterly for March produced by the office of the Chief Economist provides a five year outlook on Australia's resource and energy exports.
The report names three new projects as helping the growth of production of copper - a key metal in the growing electric car industry.
They are Rex Minerals' Hillside project (South Australia), KGL Resources' Jervois mine (Northern Territory), and Copper Mountain Mining's Eva project (Queensland).
The $380 million Canadian-owned Eva copper and gold project is expected to create 300 mining jobs and produce 45,000 tonnes of copper and 13,650 ounces of gold annually for 15 years.
The project is located 75 km from Cloncurry and 95 km north-east of Mount Isa and is envisioned to be a conventional open pit with a conventional crush, grind, flotation circuit.
The May 2020 Feasibility Study on the Eva Copper Project demonstrated robust economics, and further improved the value of the Project when compared to the 2018 Feasibility Study, increasing production, reducing costs and extending the mine life.
The Resources and Energy Quarterly report said copper production would stabilise in the short-term after recording 420,000 tonnes of refined copper production in 2019-20.
Glencore's Townsville Refinery would see lower production while re-bricking of their Mount Isa smelter will happen this year and a recent grant will continue its operations until 2025.
"However, beyond that point, its continued operations, and production at (Townsville) refinery, is uncertain," the report warned.
As for zinc In 2020, Australia's production decreased by 1.8% from 2019 due to smaller deposits being put on 'care and maintenance', and other aging deposits producing less.
"The decline came despite output gains at the major zinc mines, such as Mount Isa and McArthur River," the report said.
Glencore's Mount Isa zinc output rose 8.4% in the year. At New Century Resources, with the ramp up of their Century tailings reprocessing operation, production increased by 38% on 2019. At South32's Cannington operation, production increased by 12% on 2019, having increased by 36% over the two years since December 2018. Dugald River increased by 4.5% in 2020 and by 14% over the two years to December 2020.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
