GEMCO‘s plan to extend life of Groote mine

With the Territory facing a ‘royalties cliff’, the operators of one of the NT’s biggest mines has a plan to extend its life. Read what it is.

The operators of Groote Eylandt’s 60-year-old GEMCO manganese mine have provided clarity around the future of the enduring operation.

The mine, which has been at the heart of Groote’s economic success for decades, is earmarked for closure, although a date has not been set.

Mining Minister Nicole Manison has warned of a “royalties cliff” with the imminent closures of the mine and Rio Tinto’s bauxite mine in Gove and the cut that will inflict to the NT’s own-source revenue into Treasury.

A spokesman for the GEMCO mine’s operator South32 said while all mines have a natural lifespan, the timing of Groote’s closure depends on the success of future development plans.

Manganese ore is crushed, separated and sorted in the processing plant at GEMCO’s Groote Eylandt manganese mine.

“If approved (the project) has the potential to extend GEMCO’s operational life toward the end of the decade,” the spokesman said.

The company is seeking approval to develop a mining tenement on Groote’s southern lease which, if approved, would extend the mine life by eight years including two years of construction, three years mining and up to three years for rehabilitation and shutdown.

This would extend the mine life to just beyond 2030.

“Designed in consultation with Anindilyakwa Land Council, Groote Eylandt traditional owners and the Territory government, the project will avoid sensitive and significant environmental and cultural areas and avoid or minimise impacts on local biodiversity,” he said.

“The area we are proposing to mine is approximately 6 per cent of the total exploration footprint, which was agreed with the Land Council and Traditional Owners in 2016 following several years of consultation.

Giant trucks at GEMCO’s Groote Eylandt manganese mine.

“The project will avoid sensitive areas including sacred sites, large perennial rivers and their flood plains, significant wetlands, coastal areas and estuaries,” the spokesman said.

“Buffer zones, also known as restricted work areas prescribed by the Land Council, have been placed around culturally sensitive areas and form an integral component of the mine planning design.”

The exploration licence granted by the Northern Territory government for the Southern Lease is 26,000ha, south of GEMCO’s existing mine and the mine area is 1620ha.

Anindilyakwa Land Council’s Groote Eylandt aquaponics project.

The company employs approximately 1100 people, including 976 employees and 130 agency contractors.

The company pays royalties to the Northern Territory government, Land Council and Groote Eylandt Aboriginal Trust.

“We are working closely with the Anindilyakwa Land Council to support their vision for a sustainable post-mining future including meeting our commitments to rehabilitate the site as part of the closure process.

“This includes understanding the Traditional Owners’ vision for the environmental and economic future of Groote Eylandt.”

The Land Council is investing in new projects that will replace the royalties paid to Traditional Owners including a sustainable aquaponics project that will cultivate vegetables and leafy greens alongside freshwater edibles including barramundi, cherabins prawns and red claw crayfish.

Rio Tinto has flagged the closure of its Gove bauxite operation by 2030.