Name of the Mine
Dugald River mine.
Location
About 65 km north-west of Cloncurry, in Queensland, Australia.
Mine Owner/s
MMG.
Brief Description
Dugald River is one of the world’s top ten zinc operations. It is estimated to have a mine life of more than 20 years to process an average of 1.7-million tonnes of ore a year.
Brief History
First production of finished zinc concentrate left Dugald River in November 2017.
Primary Metals/Minerals
Zinc concentrate.
Secondary Metals/Minerals
Lead and silver.
Geology/Mineralisation
The Dugald River is a sedimentary and shear-hosted base metal deposit. The main sulphides are sphalerite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and galena, with minor arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, pyrargyrite, marcasite and alabandite.
The mineralogy of the Dugald lode is typical of a slate-hosted, base metal deposit. The gangue within the lode is composed of quartz, muscovite, carbonates, KFeldspar, clays, graphite, carbonaceous matter and minor amounts of calcite, albite, chlorite, rutile, barite, garnet and fluorite.
Reserves
Total proven and probable reserves as at June 30, 2021, were estimated at 24-million tonnes grading 10.6% zinc, 1.7% lead and 44 g/t silver.
Resources
Total mineral resources as at June 30, 2021, were estimated at 70-million tonnes grading at 11.7% zinc, 1.3% lead, 26 g/t silver and 1.5% primary copper
Mining Method
Underground, using diamond drilling techniques.
Major Infrastructure/Equipment
The metallurgical process for treatment of Dugald River ore entails crushing, grinding followed by sequential carbon/lead/zinc flotation to produce separate lead and zinc concentrates.
The carbon concentrate is a waste product and is transferred to final tailings. This process, and the equipment used, is conventional for this style of mineralisation and used worldwide.
Other infrastructure includes:
- an 11 km sealed access road from the Burke developmental road, which incorporates an emergency airstrip for medical and emergency evacuation use;
- permanent camp and recreational facilities;
- a Telstra communication tower;
- ore and waste stockpile pads;
- contaminated run-off water storage dams;
- change-house facilities for mine and processing personnel;
- office buildings, including emergency medical facilities;
- a core shed;
- a fuel farm;
- bore waterfields;
- and raw water supply lines.
Prospects
None stated.
Contact Details
MMG – Dugald River
Tel +61 7 4442 0630
Email dr_siteadmin@mmg.com
Website https://www.mmg.com/
Sources
MMG. Mineral resources and ore reserves statement as at June 30, 2021.
MMG. Website – https://www.mmg.com/ [accessed May 10, 2022).