Gemco

The GEMCO manganese mine is located in the Northern Territory, on Groote Eylandt, a part of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve, near the community of Angurugu. It is 60 percent owned by South32 and the remaining 40 percent by Anglo Pacific. Groote Eylandt is situated 630 kilometres east of Darwin and approximately 50 kilometres off the eastern coast of Arnhem Land.

GEMCO Mine has Been in Production Since the 1960's

The GEMCO open cut mine, that has been in production since the 1960's, produces 3.8 million tonnes of manganese ore a year, an amount that accounts for about 25 percent of the world's requirements. GEMCO is one of the biggest low cost manganese mines in the world and it contains high-grade ore. It has its own port facilities located at Milner Bay, just 16 kilometres from the mine site. In 2014 the mine produced 4,776 kt of manganese ore and it has an estimated life of a further 11 years. South32 is currently engaged in exploring areas that have the potential of extending the life of the GEMCO mine beyond it present expiry date.

GEMCO's Latest Expansion Began in 2014

The construction of a new premium concentrate plant at the GEMCO mine was approved in 2014 and is currently being built with a completion date of 2016. Once commissioned this plant will increase the mine's capacity from the present 4.8 million tonnes a year to 5.3 million tonnes annually. The expansion plan includes the construction of a standalone manganese ore processing plant near where the existing concentrator is located. The expansion also includes updating the port facility to allow it to better handle the blending of the premium grade concentrate with existing ore fines held in existing tailings stockpiles.

Sedgman Awarded GEMCO EPC Expansion Contract

Mining contracting company Sedgman was awarded the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract to carry out the expansion work at GEMCO in late 2014. Sedgman were given the responsibility of providing the design, supply and fabrication along with the construction work, as well as the commissioning of the sands benefication facility, the stockpile expansion at the port and other on site infrastructure work.

The mining of manganese by GEMCO on Groote Eylandt began in 1964 under the ownership of BHP. Soon after, the company commissioned a crushing and wet screening plant on the site. The benefication facility was brought online in 1972 with a one million tonnes a year capacity. It has been upgraded several times since through a series of expansion programs, the last being completed in 2013 which increased the plant's capacity from 4.3 to 4.8 million tonnes a year. This being achieved by installing a dense media circuit bypass. At the same time the port capacity was also increased to allow it to handle up to 5.9 million tonnes a year.

GEMCO majority owner, South32, is a company formed through the demerger of BHP Billiton in May 2015.