Base metals firm Heron Resources on Tuesday reported a significant milestone in the project development schedule of the Woodlawn zinc/copper project, in New South Wales, announcing that Pybar Mining had started underground activities.
The company has a four-year underground mining contract with Pybar, which has mobilised to site and has started work on the ground support for the box cut walls and the first portal blast of the decline.
“It is very pleasing to see the start of underground activities at Woodlawn. Exploration over the last four years has defined a high-grade, high-quality resource and reserve position and the access which has now commenced will enable us to deliver underground ore into the processing plant in 2019,” said MD Wayne Taylor.
The Woodlawn project will be commissioned at the end of the year and at steady state, it will produce 70 000 t/y of zinc concentrates, 30 000 t/y of copper concentrates and 25 000 t/y of lead concentrates.
Heron stated that the long-term outlook for zinc, copper and lead remained supportive of the mine, despite the recent pricing pullback in zinc. It is the company’s view that the lower prices are not supported by the market supply and demand fundamentals and that the pull-back will reduce the probability of new zinc projects.