Mine Details
Bootu creek
http://www.omholdingsltd.com/
manganese-oreCamp, FiFo
Phone:
Address:
PO Box 40, Tennant Creek, NT, 861
State: PO Box 40, Tennant Creek, NT, 861
Email:
The Bootu Creek manganese mine in the outback of Northern Territory is owned by OM Holdings Limited, a Bermuda listed company, founded by a Singapore engineer in 1994 to boost trade with the Peoples Republic of China.
From Exploration to First Shipment in Five Years
Exploration, along with development of the Bootu Creek manganese project began in 2001 with mining getting underway in 2005. The first batch of manganese from the Bootu Creek mine was processed on site in April 2006 and the first shipment out of Darwin occurred in June 2006.
Manganese Deposits Well Suited to Open cut Mining
The Bootu Creek mining lease actually comprises many deposits of manganese, including that remaining at the now abandoned Muckaty open pit that was worked from 1995 through to 1963. Individual deposits can be found to be up to three kilometres long. Most being long and shallow and well suited to the open cut method of mining.
Open cut mining at Bootu Creek uses the traditional method of blasting to break up the deposit before bringing in the hydraulic excavators to load the dump trucks. The trucks take the ore to the processing plant that puts it through two stages of crushing, scrubbing and heavy media cyclone drum treatment before finally having it finish up in fines, producing a total of 680,000 tonnes of manganese a year.
Upgrading Took Place in 2009
The mine underwent considerable upgrading in December 2009 that has extended its life, based on known resources, to more than 13 years, at a rate of 2.4 million tonnes of ore mined each year. This will allow it to process one million tonnes of high grade manganese annually. Further upgrading has included the general expansion of the operation, further upgrading of the secondary processing plant as well as the existing infrastructure and the building of a new separate production plant to handle ore from the nearby Renner Springs deposit, as well as enlarging the Muckaty Railway siding.
Manganese Railed 800 Kilometres to Darwin
Manganese produced at the Booku Creek project is taken 60 kilometres to the Muckaty Railway Siding along a private road. From there it is transported 800 kilometres by rail, on the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line, to the port at Darwin for shipping to customers in Iran, India and China.
Celebrating the One Millionth Tonne of Manganese Shipped out of Darwin
It was a big occasion worthy of celebration in the Northern Territory when the one millionth tonne of manganese was shipped out of the Darwin port in June 2008, only two years after the Bootu Creek mine began production. An official function was held in the Northern Territory Parliament House to mark the significant occasion.
A Mine With big Connections
The Bootu Creek mine owner, OM Holdings Limited, has the ongoing support of many multinational companies in the minerals and steel industry who have remained active trading partners over many years. The company commenced its Australian operations when OM (Manganese) Limited, formerly Bootu Creek Resources, began exploration for manganese deposits. This resulted in the Bootu Creek Project being proven economically feasible. A joint venture agreement was then entered into with Groote Eylandt Mining Company to develop the project that was to be fully funded by Groote Eylandt. This was rewarded with Groote Eylandt receiving a 25 percent share in the venture.
The main tenements currently held by OM Holdings Limited are in the Bootu Creek mining area where all the processing of the ore is carried out. However, the company is always searching for new deposits and it does this by way of satellite imagery as well as surface prospecting, drilling, geophysical surveys and geochemical sampling.
