A Cloncurry industry forum has heard that the local zinc mine Dugald River has a 25 year mine life with a design average of 1.7 million tonnes of ore a year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dugald River is 65km north of Cloncurry and after producing its first zinc concentrate in November 2017 it was exporting one million tonnes of zinc concentrate a year by 2020.
Dugald River general manager Tim Akroyd gave an update on the zinc mines operations at a Cloncurry business breakfast on Monday saying MMG were in the region for the long haul.
He said MMG is now working on a $20 refrigeration plant at Dugald River that will bring 9.5MW of bulk air underground to facilitate ongoing zinc extraction.
"Consistent temperature control is critical for the safety of the mine's employees and contractors working in north-west Queensland's hot climate," Mr Akroyd said.
"MMG has sourced a long-term refrigeration plant and ventilation system designed to deliver a safe work environment for our teams."
He said mine ventilation firm BBE Consulting helped to scope options for the cooling works planned for completion by early 2022.
Mr Akroyd said they accept 10 local placements a year in the their traineeship and apprenticeship program with a nationally recognised qualification.
"We get a lot of people applying for jobs at Dugald River from all over the country," he said.
"We have a strong local residents policy, if you want to come and work for MMG and come and live in Cloncurry, we'll support you to do that."
He said they had spent $15.9m on local procurement to date with a project local spend of $4.5m.
"We are committed to increasing our local spend and are actively engaged in matching our business needs with local capability," he said.
In its latest interim results MMG said Dugald River produced 89,076 tonnes of zinc concentrate with an EBITDA of US$101.7 million during the first half of 2021, significantly higher than the US$9.1 million result for the first half of 2020.
Higher prices and zinc sales volumes were the primary drivers behind the stronger performance.
READ ALSO: Rocklands mine set to reopen
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
Bookmark https://www.northweststar.com.au/
Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Google News