Kanmantoo

The Kanmantoo Copper Mine is located 55 kilometres from Adelaide, nearthe town of Mount Barker, in South Australia's Adelaide Hills Region. The mine utilises part of the old Kanmantoo pit that operated between 1970 and 1976.

Ongoing Exploration is Expected to Expand the Kanmantoo Copper Mine and Lengthen its Life

Hillgrove Resources was granted the Kanmantoo copper mining lease 2009. Since that time it has proved up an extra indicated and inferred mineral resource at the site of 31.3 million tonnes grading at 0.78 percent copper. An amount that equates to 157,000 tonnes of copper, along with 0.2 grams of gold per tonne that will produce an extra 128,000 ounces of gold. Exploration work is continuing at the Kanmantoo mine with a view to discovering additional resources therefore expanding the mine size and life.

The Kanmantoo Mining Lease is one of Australia's Least Explored and Most Prospective Base Metals Provinces

The Kanmantoo Copper Mine, that had previously been operating for six years before closing in 1976 because of low copper prices, left behind an open cut pit to a depth of 120 metres, a former processing facility, that is now used as a fertiliser manufacturing plant, a partially rehabilitated waste rock dump area and a small tailings storage area that still remains outside today's operations. Hillgrove Resources acquired the final 10 percent interest in the Kanmantoo Copper mine from Kelaray Pty Ltd, a subsidiary company belonging to Argonaut Resources NL in March 2008. The Kanmantoo mining lease remains one of Australia's most under explored and prospective base metal provinces. It promises to have substantial potential for zinc, lead, silver, gold and copper mineralisation.

Kanmantoo Mine has Cost Advantages Over Similar Mines

The Kanmantoo Copper Mine operates with considerable cost advantages over similar operations in that it accesses power from a low cost grid and uses cheap treated waste water from the Mount Barker district Council's, Laratinga Water Treatment Plant. It is also fortunate to be located only three kilometres from the south eastern freeway, which is the main roadway leading to the city of Adelaide and the Port of Adelaide from where its produce is exported.

The Kanmantoo Copper Mine is a relatively small mining company when compared to many other mining operations taking place in South Australia.It employs around 200 personnel and doesn't use any fly-in-fly-out mine workers as is the practice with many other mining companies. This means it has no need to provide accommodation or catering services. The mine is located in a relatively highly populated area and its staff is housed in surrounding townships.

Kanmantoo Processing Plant Relocated to South Australia from the Pillara Mine in Western Australia

The Kanmantoo ore processing plant was commissioned in late 2011 after being purchased from the Lennard Shelf Pty Ltd Joint Venture (Tex Resources Limited and Xstrata) Pillara Mine, located 375 kilometres east of Broome in Western Australia. The Pillara mine was founded in 1998 as a lead and zinc mine by Western Metals limited. The plant had not been used since the Pillara Mine was closed down in 2008. The plant purchase included the product storage buildings, fuel farm, laboratory, sample preparation facility, warehouse, plant spares etc, crusher, office buildings, SAG mill and ball mill. The processing plant can now handle a capacity of 2.8 million tonnes of ore annually for a mine of life expected to be at least 10 years. The Kanmantoo copper mine is expected to produce 80,000 tonnes of concentrate a year containing 10,000 ounces of gold and 20,000 tonnes of copper metal.