Golden grove

The Golden Grove Mine in Western Australian, is located in the Mid West of the state. It consists of an open pit and underground operation that involves the Gossan Hill and Scuddles mines and on site processing facilities. It mines the base and precious metals of copper,gold, zinc, silver and lead. The concentrates of which are exported from the port at Geraldton to smelters in Thailand, India, Japan, Korea and China.

Golden Grove Open pit Began Production in 2012rnOpen pit mining began at the Golden Grove Mine above the Gossan Hill mine in early 2012. This particular copper mine is expected to produce 235,000 tonnes of copper concentrate during its lifetime. Both the Gossan Hill and Scuddles mines are underground operations.

The Uses of Golden Grove Ores

The lead mined at Golden Grove is mainly used in the construction of power storing batteries while the zinc is used for galvanising steel as a protection against corrosion. Copper is used in the making of electrical appliances and wiring.

Underground Operations at the Golden Grove Mine

The underground operation at Golden Grove is carried out by means of sublevel open stoping and access from the surface obtained via declines. Horizontal drives reach out from the ramps to access the ore deposits. Ore is extracted from the ore body by means of development jumbos, or underground drill rigs, that drill horizontal holes into the rock to a distance of three and a half metres. These holes are then charged with explosives and the rock blasted out of its position. A loader is then used to remove the blasted rock. Once the way is clear the jumbo's are used to place a steel mesh fixed with rock bolts, cable bolts and shotcrete, to stabilise the roof and walls. Once the tunnels are developed in this way production drill rigs are brought in to drill holes up to 40 metres long between the levels. These holes, when charged, loosen the ore itself that is removed by loaders. The space created is called a stope. Ore removed from the stope is taken to the surface via trucks where it is crushed and processed. When the ore is removed from the stope it is filled with mill tailings and rock mixed with cement. This prevents any cave-in occurring. On site employees, along with contractors, maintain and manage the above ground infrastructure as well as the site services such as domestic service, camp catering etc.

The Golden Grove mining operation is powered by 132kv power from Three Springs. The company also has a three megawatt diesel power generator that is used as a back-up in cases of power outages. Water for the mining operation is provided by water bores. It is treated and stored on site for use at the camp village as well as the mining operations generally.

Workers FIFO to Work at Golden Grove Mine

The Golden Grove mine site is accessed via a sealed road from Geraldton and although the village roads are also sealed, all other on-site roads are unsealed. Workers at the complex are flown in and out for work at the operation. The company airstrip has an all weather sealed surface and an enclosed terminal building. The accommodation camp on site has 600 rooms with a further 100 planned to be built in the near future.

The owner of the Golden Grove Mine, MMG Limited, is a global mining company with its Australian headquarters in Melbourne. The major shareholder of MMG is China Minmetals Corporation.