Mt isa pb zn ag orebodies

The Mount Isa (Pb-Zn-Ag orebodies) have been mined by Mount Isa Mines since 1924 and for a brief period in 1980 it was the largest company in Australia. Today it is owned by giant multinational mining company Glencore Xstrata who are currently planning the next stage of the mine to keep it in operation for the next 20 to 30 years.

Mount Isa Plans Large Open pit Development
Mount Isa Mine's future planning revolves around the viability of developing a large multi-commodity open pit. It is necessary to plan this future development now as the current life of the Mount Isa mine complex is due to expire in 2032 with copper mining ceasing in 2021.

Feasibility Study on way Forward due for Release in 2013
A feasibility study was commissioned in August 2011 to look into the viability of developing the next stage of Mount Isa mine growth with its results due to be handed to directors in 2013. The current plan is to expand both mining and concentrate outputs while at the same time phasing out the current practice of refining metal at Townsville and copper smelting at Mount Isa by the end of 2016.
Glencore Xstrata Sees Expansion Necessary for Growth Glencore Xstrata sees it future in north Queensland being reliant on the expansion of its existing operations along with the development of new mines in the broader region. This will require lead smelting to continue along with the expansion of the port facilities at Townsville.

Mount Isa (Pb-Zn-Ag orebodies) to be Exported as Concentrates
Mount Isa Mine management have decided to focus on producing concentrate and building up its zinc, lead and copper mining opportunities and to achieve this they will be looking at developing new projects. A greater emphasis will be placed on exporting concentrates and this is why the port facilities at Townsville will require considerable upgrading.

Company Plans Going Forward at Mount Isa
Mineral resources at Mount Isa presently stand at 416 million tonnes of copper, measured, indicated and preferred and 654 million tonnes of zinc. These resources are able to be accessed if the open pit and underground operations are expanded. Major initiatives to achieve these aims will require the following action:
- Expansion of the lead and zinc operations
- The transforming of the Ernest Henry open pit mine into an underground operation along with the building of a magnetite processing plant
- Acquiring two copper projects from Exco Resources
- Development of a number of small open pits and two mining tenements known as the Mount Margaret Mining operation.

The company is confident that these actions will secure the ongoing long term employment opportunities at Mount Isa.

The Mount Isa (Pb-Zn-Ag orebody) was discovered in 1923 with actual mining commencing only a year later, in 1924. By the 1960's Mount Isa had become the centre of a large copper, silver, zinc and lead supply network that included smelting, refining and recycling facilities in Europe. In 1970 Mount Isa Mines became known as MIM Holdings and a quiet period resulted until a re-vitalisation effort took place late in the 1980's. MIM withdrew from copper, then lead and zinc smelting in Europe and began focusing on coal production. Swiss based Xstrata acquired the
Mount Isa operations in mid 2003.

Note- GlencoreXstrata was formed following a merger of Glencore International and Xstrata, the merger was completed in May 2013. But a decision was made by the Company's shareholders during the annual general meeting and the announcement was made in May 2014 that Glencore will drop Xstrata and be simply known as Glencore.