Mt moss

Curtain Brothers purchased the mining lease that covers the Mount Moss iron ore mine from Jervois Mining NL in 2005. The mine is exploiting one of the largest skarn magnetite deposit on the entire Australian east coast.

Mount Moss Mine Revives Mining at the old Ewan Mining Field
The Mount Moss Mine is located in an old mining field at Ewan, 150 kilometres north west of Townsville, an area that was mined for tin and copper from the 1890's up until the 1930's. Large international mining companies such as MIM and BHP Billiton have explored the area around Ewan for tin, zinc, lead and copper since 1985. However, it was Curtain Brothers who finally saw the potential of resuming mining in the area when they acquired the mining lease in 2005 and set up a company named Mount Moss Mining.

Curtain Brothers Started Production at Willett's Knob
Curtain Brothers set about building site workshops, camp accommodation facilities, a laboratory and offices, at the same time as constructing 50 kilometres of roads capable of hauling heavy loads of iron ore from the mine site. While the construction was taking place the company was also busy diamond and percussion chip core drilling to prove the extent of the magnetite iron ore reserve that eventually stood at being more than 20 million tonnes with potential for substantial additional resources of zinc and copper. The result of all this activity finally saw open pit mining start at the Willett's Knob ore body in 2007.

Two Beneficiation Circuits at Mount Moss Processing Plant
The Mount Moss processing plant handles stockpiled magnetite ore via two independent beneficiation circuits that produce a range of products, much of it saleable as a coal cleaning product in both Australia and overseas in China. Sales of magnetite suitable for coal washing increased to 5,000 tonnes in the first half of 2010 and the company had 40,000 tonnes on order to be supplied as coal washing fines for 2011.

Sufficient Magnetite to Supply the Entire Bowen Basin Requirements
Mount Moss's deposit of high grade magnetite is believed to be sufficient to supply the entire Bowen Basin coal industry for many years. Magnetite powder from the Mount Moss mine was first used in coal preparation plants in central Queensland in early 2009 and the commissioning of an upgraded processing plant at the mine in December 2009 has allowed it to substantially increase its output capacity of high grade magnetite powder.

Mount Moss Employs a Wide Range of Personnel
The Mount Moss Mine employs more than 75 people who work across a wide range of areas that include; catering and general housekeeping, administration, metallurgy, mine engineering, geology, electrical and mechanical trades, as well as fixed and mobile plant operators.

First Mount Moss Export Shipment Took Place in 2010
The first shipment of lump iron ore totalling 50,000 tonnes to leave the Mount Moss Mine was trucked to the Townsville port in July 2010. A second load of the same magnitude left the port in August 2010. Both were shipped to Chinese steel mills. Curtain Brothers exported 500,000 tonnes in 2011.

Mount Moss's Three Main Products
The Mount Moss Mine focuses on supplying three products, these being:
Magnetite Fines ñ This product is suitable for use as sinter feed in the steel industry and heavy medium in the pipe weight coating industry.
Lump Magnetite ñ Suitable as feed stock in steel making. Overseas shipment of this product started in July 2010.
Magnetite Powder ñ A product widely used for coal washing. Mount moss is capable of producing 60,000 tonnes of this product a year to markets in central Queensland. It can also be used as a concentrate in the making of pellets when manufacturing steel.
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