Grassy scheelite mine on King Island expected to be up and running by next year

The reopening of a mothballed mine after 30 years will see a small town flourish with the Mayor saying the community is on the “cusp of big things”. PLANS FOR THE TRANSFORMATION >>

AFTER 30 years, and a couple of doomed bids, King Island’s mothballed scheelite mine is set to fire back to life and the community is bracing for boom times.

The mine is owned by Group 6 Metals, formerly King Island Scheelite and will be officially opened on Thursday.

Chairman Johann Jacobs said the mine had attracted investment of over $90m – including a $10m loan from the Tasmanian Government and a $2m in power upgrades through Hydro Tasmania and was ready to return to production.

Scheelite is used to produce tungsten which acquired commercial value when it began to be used in alloy steels and electric-light filaments.

'Scheelite' property at Grassy, King Island. (Meares and Associates, Sydney).

“The project will deliver significant financial royalties, economic activity and social dividends to King Island and Tasmania,” Mr Jacobs said.

“The reopened Dolphin Mine, near the town of Grassy, will provide significant expansion of regional jobs with an additional 75 families to be located on King Island.”

Mayor Julie Arnold said King Island was “on the cusp of big things.”

“We are booming along,” she said.

Tourists are sticking to their bookings, one of the island’s two major golf courses has been sold and is due to expand its accommodation offering and now the mothballed mine at Grassy is being officially reopened.

“The mining company is on island and the permanent jobs that will come when Dolphin Mine is back in full production – expected to be the first quarter of 2023 – will really fire things up,” she said.

Federal Election 2010, border protection debate, residents of Grassy are lobbying for the Bass Strait community to become a centre for asylum seekers, horses on King Island with a King Island Sustainable Future program sign

“They have made a commitment to employ locals and not have a fly-in, fly-out workforce. Thursday is a big day for Grassy and the whole island.”

The Dolphin Tungsten Mine operated between 1917 and 1992, when it was closed due to extremely low tungsten prices, rather than a lack of reserves.

At that time, about half of the known resource was yet to be mined.

Two mines operated, the larger Dolphin mine and the satellite Bold Head Mine.

The current development plan envisages an eight-year open cut mine followed by a six-year underground mine producing a concentrate for supply into the Ammonium Paratungstate market.