Magellan

Canadian base metal mining company, Ivernia, is the outright owner of the Paroo Station Lead Mine in Western Australia that was placed on care and maintenance in April 2011. The former Magellan Mine is the largest lead carbonate mine in the world. The company running the mine, formerly known as Magellan Metals Pty Ltd, has also undergone a name change to Rosslyn Hill Mining Pty Ltd.

Paroo Station Mine 750 Kilometres From Perth

The Paroo Station Lead Mine is located 750 kilometres north east of Perth and about 30 kilometres from Wiluna. Workers at the mine are flown in to complete their shifts and while on the job live in an on-site camp. The entire facility of an open pit mine, concentrator and treatment plant, bagging, container facility, truck washing and accommodation camp are situated adjacent to the Goldfields Highway north of Kalgoorlie in the Mid West Region of the state.

Shallow Deposit of Good Quality Lead Ore

Open pit mining is especially suited to the lead deposit at the Paroo Station Mine because of its comparative shallowness. Very little drilling and blasting is required to loosen the overburden and ore deposit to facilitate excavators in the loading of both waste rock and the lead ore into large 85 tonne trucks. Ore at the Paroo Station Mine is mined from a number of different faces to better achieve a superior blend when it reaches the concentrator. After it leaves the concentrator it is stockpiled while waiting to be blended again on the run-of-mine (ROM) pad.

How Lead is Recovered at Paroo Station Mine

The concentrate is recovered from clean oxidised lead ore after it has been subjected to crushing, milling and floatation processes. When the mine reopens the product, with a moisture content of at least seven and a half percent, will be packed directly into special bags from a pressure filter. The bags are constructed to Western Australia Government and United Nations approved double lined two tonne bags. Each of the bags is sealed after which the outside is vacuumed to remove any residue. The bags are then loaded into special steel shipping containers. Once full the shipping container is securely locked and loaded onto a truck which is thoroughly washed before leaving the site to be taken to the railway terminal at Lenoro, for rail transportation to the port at Freemantle. The lead concentrate from the mine contains an average of 63 percent lead carbonate, with a small amount of lead sulphate and some quartz. It is a dark grey to black colour very much like damp sand, quite heavy but it can't combust nor can it gasify. It is only considered dangerous if ingested.

Safety Consciousness all the way From Mine to Smelters in China

The company has worked with authorities and communities along the route from the mine site to the port at Freemantle. This is done to ensure all responsible bodies have a clear understanding of lead and what type of Emergency Response Plan is required should a mishap occur in the event of a spill happening. This emergency plan is mainly centred around containment of the lead and the necessity for a quick response in cleaning the area before the material has a chance to dry out and become airborne.

Most of the lead produced at the Paroo Station Mine is exported to the Yunnan Metallurgical Group in China for smelting. Smelting of the concentrate separates the lead from any other impurities when the lead reaches melting point. The bags of lead concentrate remain unopened from the time they leave the mine to the time they reach the smelter for health purposes.

It was announced at the end of January 2013 that the Paroo Station Lead Mine would recommence production in the second quarter of 2013, with full production expected by years end.