McArthur River zinc mine

This article is about the McArthur River Lead-Zinc Mine, Northern Territory, Australia. For the McArthur River Uranium Mine, Saskatchewan, Canada, see McArthur River uranium mine.

McArthur River mine
The MV Aburri transports mineral concentrate from the port to export vessels
Location
McArthur River mine Location in Australia 16°25′34.81″S 136°04′38.73″E / 16.4263361°S 136.077425°E / -16.4263361; 136.077425Coordinates: 16°25′34.81″S 136°04′38.73″E / 16.4263361°S 136.077425°E / -16.4263361; 136.077425
Location	Borroloola
Territory	Northern Territory
Country	Australia
Owner
Company	Xtratazinc
Website	http://www.xstratazinc.com/ http://www.mcarthurrivermine.com.au/
Production
Products	Lead-Zinc-Silver bulk concentrate Zinc Concentrate
History
Opened	1995

The McArthur River mine is one of the world's largest zinc, lead and silver mines, situated about 70 kilometres southwest of Borroloola, near the Gulf of Carpentaria in the northeastern Northern Territory, Australia. It is operated by McArthur River Mining (MRM), a subsidiary of the Swiss mining company Xstrata. Although discovered in the 1950s, when it was originally called the HYC ("Here's Your Chance") deposit, it only opened as a mine in 1995. Initially an underground mining operation, the mine has been converted to open-cut.

Ore processing

Due to the nature of the complex ore body, there is extremely fine dissemination of the valuable mineral grains intermeshed with the gangue. The technology to efficiently produce a marketable concentrate from this type of ore was not available until long after the site was known about. After Mount Isa Mines (MIM) successfully introduced the IsaMill, the fine grinding necessary for mineral liberation was available for McArthur river to be developed.

This unusual mineralogy combined with the ore's relatively high lead levels makes the lead and zinc virtually inseparable prior to smelting, and there are very few smelters which can process concentrate which is high in lead. These issues led Mount Isa Mines (later Xstrata) to develop a new lead-zinc smelting process in partnership with Highlands Pacific, known as the Albion process.^[1] The first pilot plant based on the Albion technology is currently in the process of expanding to full scale production in northern Germany.^[2]

Transport

Bulk concentrate is trucked 120 km from the mine to a loading facility in the Gulf of Carpentaria.^[3] The concentrate is loaded onto a ship at the Bing Bong Loading Facility. From here the purpose-built barge called MV Aburri operates a shuttle service from the loading facility to a point fifteen nautical miles offshore where the concentrate is transferred on to overseas bulk carriers.^[4]

Criticism

The change from underground to open pit mining caused controversy in the surrounding communities concerned with heavy metal pollution, and the disruption of the McArthur river itself. The main ore body lies directly beneath the river, so the conversion to open pit necessitated the diversion of the river along a canal that runs around the facility to the east.

A small section of seagrass, which provides food for dugongs, has been destroyed by dredging at the Bing Bong Loading Facility. Potential for bioaccumulation of heavy metals in dugongs, a significant concern for Aboriginals from Borroloola who eat the meat, has been identified as a result from potential ore spillage at the facility.^[5]

See also

Northern Territory portal

• McArthur River Mine Airport
• Ore genesis
• Sedimentary exhalative deposits

References

1. ^ Pease, Joe (August), "Complex leaching becomes much simpler", Australian Mining: 26–32, http://www.albionprocess.com/downloads/2005-08-03_AM_AUG05.pdf, retrieved 6/01/2010 
2. ^ "The Albion Process" (Press release). Albion Process. 01-06-2005. http://archive.xstrata.com/mim/www.mim.com.au/downloads/02AR_exploration.pdf. Retrieved 6/01/2010. 
3. ^ "Production: Shipping". McArthur River Mining. 8 April 2010. http://www.mcarthurrivermine.com.au/production_shipping.cfm. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
4. ^ "Ships (Capital Grants) Regulations (Amendment) 1996 No. 87". ComLaw. Commonwealth of Australia. http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F1996B00012/Explanatory%20Statement/Text. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
5. ^ Marsh, Helene (2002). Dugong: Status Report and Action Plans for Countries and Territories. United Nations Environment Programme. p. 108. ISBN 9280721305. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=LOeYVdH8qRsC. Retrieved 17 November 2011.