Mt Lyell Mine restart: Owner says ore body double initially thought

The owners of a Queenstown mine shuttered nearly a decade ago after three worker deaths says the ore bodies it is focusing on represent just one-fifth of the total estimated resource.

The ore reserves within two deposits set to be targeted by the new owners of a Tasmanian copper and gold mine put into caretaker mode in 2014 after the deaths of three workers are more than double the size initially thought.

New Century Resources, which purchased the Mt Lyell mine, at Queenstown, from Indian owners Vedanta in October last year, announced to the ASX that the ore reserves at the Prince Lyell and Western Tharsis deposits, the focus of their operations to begin with, are 130 per cent larger than initially thought.

Prior to the mine entering care and maintenance in 2014, following the deaths of miners Alistair Lucas, Craig Gleeson and Michael Walsh within two months of each other, the ore reserve in the two deposits was reported at 10.68 megatonnes.

However, New Century now say the two deposits are likely to contain 23.9 megatonnes of ore, which would make it Australia’s seventh-largest copper mine.

Mt Lyell copper and gold mine. Picture: File

“New Century’s restart development work to date has delivered an initial ore reserve at Mt Lyell significantly larger than anticipated, with a mine life projected out greater than 10 years on this ore reserve alone,” managing director Patrick Walta said.

The estimation of the ore reserve is expected to be revised further upwards in the second half of this year as further drilling occurs at the two sites.

Meanwhile, the ore reserve in the two deposits is estimated to represent less than one-fifth of the total mineral deposit at Mt Lyell, leading New Century to conclude the mine could have a “multi-decade” lifespan.

The mine’s restart has been aided by “extensive historical restart study work completed by Copper Mines of Tasmania (a subsidiary of Vedanta) between 2017 – 2021... (and circa) 28km of existing underground development and associated infrastructure... alongside extensive surface infrastructure” already in place.

Mt Lyell copper and gold mine. Picture: File

“Mt Lyell is shaping up as one of the largest near-term copper production assets on the ASX, aided by the extensive infrastructure in place and a proven production history of high quality, low-carbon copper, utilising low-cost renewable energy from hydro-electric power,” Mr Walta said.

“(The) green copper... market (is) projected to be in significant supply deficit within the next three to five years.”

A mine restart pre-feasibility study is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2022.