Name of the Mine
Carrapateena mine.
Location
Gawler Craton, in South Australia, about 160 km north of Port Augusta.
Mine Owner/s
OZ Minerals.
Brief Description
Carrapateena is an underground mine located in the highly prospective Gawler Craton.
Brief History
Carrapateena produced first concentrate in December 2019, following a three-year construction period, and was officially opened in 2020.
Primary Metals/Minerals
Copper.
Secondary Metals/Minerals
Gold and silver.
Geology/Mineralisation
Carrapateena is a copper/gold deposit hosted in a brecciated granite complex and is mostly chalcopyrite, with a central high-grade bornite zone.
The deposit is shaped like a near vertical pipe and is situated under about 500 m of unmineralised rock cover.
Reserves
Total proven and probable reserves as at June 30, 2020, were estimated at 220-million tonnes grading 1.1% copper, 0.45 g/t gold and 4.4 g/t silver.
Resources
Total measured, indicated and inferred resources as at June 30, 2020, were estimated at 950-million tonnes grading 0.57% copper, 0.25 g/t gold, 2.7 g/t silver.
Mining Method
Sublevel caving.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment
The mine uses a conventional crushing, grinding and flotation circuit to produce acceptable concentrate grades and metal recoveries.
Prospects
A feasibility study is under way into the future expansion of the bottom half of the operation into a block cave.
Contact Details
OZ Minerals
Tel +61 8 8229 6600
Email info@ozminerals.com
Website https://www.ozminerals.com/
Sources
OZ Minerals. Annual and Sustainability Report (March 31, 2021).
OZ Minerals. Website: https://www.ozminerals.com/ (accessed October 2021).