Boliden to invest €44m in Irish mine expansion

11th January 2017 By: Anine Kilian - Contributing Editor Online

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining and smelting group Boliden will invest €44-million on extending the life of its Tara zinc mine, in Ireland, as well as on expanding the capacity of the mine’s tailings dam.

The company on Wednesday reported that successful exploration at the mine had identified a new mineralisation – Tara Deep – with an inferred mineral resource of ten-million tonnes of zinc.

Boliden will invest €11-million on the construction of an exploration drift to the new deposit.

It will spend a further €33-million on expanding the mine’s tailings dam, which currently limits the life of the Tara mine to 2020. Once the expansion is complete, its capacity will be sufficient to handle current production levels up to 2026.

“New exploration successes, increased productivity and high zinc prices make extending the mine’s lifespan a profitable option, so we have decided to expand the tailings dam,” Boliden president Mikael Staffas said in a statement.