Hillgrove Resources has signed off on a $38m restart of its Kanmantoo copper mine
More than 100 new jobs will be created as Hillgrove Resources restarts its copper mining operations at Kanmantoo in the Adelaide Hills.
Hillgrove Resources has pulled the trigger on the $38m restart of underground mining at its Kanmantoo project in the Adelaide Hills, and expects to create about 130 new jobs.
The copper mine is expected to operate for a minimum of four years, however drilling is already underway with the aim to expand the life of the mine.
Hillgrove on Monday formally announced a “final investment decision” to go ahead with the project, and expects to ship its first copper concentrate early next year.
Copper was first mined at Kanmantoo in the 1840s, with the mine now owned by Hillgrove operated as an open cut operation in the 1970s.
Hillgrove mined copper there from late 2010 until mid-2019, when the project was placed on care and maintenance while more exploration drilling was done.
Hillgrove restarted development of the underground project in May, in anticipation of Monday’s announcement.
The company’s managing director Lachlan Wallace said it was an exciting milestone for the company.
“It comes on the back of completing a $38m placement and share purchase plan, which was strongly supported by existing and new shareholders, and positions the company to commence development without any debt,’’ Mr Wallace said.
“This in turn de-risks the project by providing operational flexibility, and enables the mine to be developed with a focus on delivering project value, rather than a debt repayment schedule
potentially influencing operational decisions.
“In anticipation of a positive investment decision, a great team has been established with a high level of underground experience, and they have wasted no time in getting the underground development underway.
“The first underground blast occurred in May and the development rate has quickly ramped
up to planned levels.’’
Mr Wallace said there had been strong interest from prospective staff to work at the project, with the ability to live locally an attractive proposition.
He said drilling over the past three years had increased the mineral resource estimate by 600 per cent to almost seven million tonnes, and the company had a further exploration target of 20 million tonnes at a grade of 0.9-1.3 per cent copper and 0.1-0.3 grams per tonne of gold.
“In addition, within 10km of the mine site, there are a number of exploration opportunities which have the potential to leverage the existing processing and tailings infrastructure,’’ Mr Wallace said.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis said it was fantastic to see the project progress.
“Copper is arguably the most important critical mineral as the world looks to decarbonise,’’ he said.
“Mines such as this stand to help address the copper deficit while stimulating the state and local economy.’’
Hillgrove shares were 3.6 per cent higher at 5.7c.
