PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has approved ASX-listed Focus Minerals’ mining proposal for its Greenfields openpit operation.
Focus said on Friday that the approved mining proposal allowed the company to start mining from the Greenfields openpit, and to process ore through its Three Mile Hill treatment plant.
The Greenfields operation is the first mine that Focus plans to operate on the resumption of operations at the Coolgardie project.
“This is a strategic milestone for Focus and its operations team. Greenfields is the starter openpit ore source in our resumption of mining plan for Coolgardie. The approval of this mining proposal provides greater certainty for Focus as we target mining and ore stockpiling from early 2023,” said executive chairperson Wanghong Yang.
The selection of a mining contractor will start shortly, to ensure that there is adequate resource amid the prevailing labour constraints in the Western Australian mining industry.
In the meantime, Focus is also working on optimising the Greenfields mine design, and work is under way to finalise the ore reserves for the Greenfields, Brilliant South and CNX openpits for inclusion in a new life-of-mine plan for Coolgardie.