Prominent hill

The high grade copper concentrate, produced at the Prominent Hill copper and gold mine in the Port Augusta Region of South Australia, is exported from the Port of Adelaide to Asian and European smelters. The Prominent Hill underground and open cut mine is located 116 kilomertes from the Adelaide to Darwin railway, 130 kilometres south of Coober Pedy and 650 kilometres north west of Adelaide.

The Copper and Gold Ore-body at Prominent Hill was Discovered in 2001
The copper and gold rich ore body at Prominent Hill was discovered in 2001 by Minotaur Exploration Limited. In 2005 the mine came under the ownership of OZ Minerals and mining began at the site in 2006. The first copper concentrate was shipped out of the mine in February 2009. In 2010, its first full year of production, the Prominent Hill Mine produced 196,400 ounces of gold and 112,171 tonnes tonnes of contained copper.

Prominent Hill Processing Plant can Handle up to Eight Million Tonnes of Ore a Year
The Prominent Hill mine contains a large, high grade, copper-gold resource, that is processed on- site using conventional grinding and flotation technology, that can process eight million tonnes a year. The mine consists of an open pit, an underground operation, processing plant, mine employees village, haulage road, water bore field, electrical power line and air strip. It operates as a fly-in-fly- out mine that employs around 1,200 personnel and contractors. In 2013 the Prominent Hill Mine is expected to produce between 70,000 and 75,000 tonnes of copper and between 120,000 and 130,000 ounces of gold in concentrate. This is because of the geometry of the ore body in relation of the waste that is required to be removed. Because of this factor, both the ore mined and its grade, is expected to be lower that that previously mined. This is consistent with OZ Minerals long term mine plan.

Ankata Underground Operation at Prominent Hill Commenced Production in 2012
The Ankata underground mine at Prominent Hill was approved in 2010 with development beginning later in the same year. The first ore obtained from the stoping was produced during the first quarter of 2012. It reached full production of 1.2 million tonnes a year in the third quarter of 2012.

Underground Mining at Prominent Hill Uses the Sub-level Stoping Method
The Ankata underground mine at Prominent Hill is located 800 metres from the Malu open pit mining operation. The underground mine is expected to produce a higher grade ore than that of the open pit. It is expected to contribute an average of 12,000 ounces of gold and 25,000 tonnes of copper annually to the combined mining operation at the site. Mining underground is carried out by means of sub-level stoping. The ore has similar metallurgical properties to that of the open pit ore to which it is blended before processing.

Contract to Operate the Prominent Hill Mine Awarded to Thiess
The Prominent Hill Mine has been operated by Thiess since its inception. The contract was extended in 2012 for a further six years. The original contract accounted for the building of the mine infrastructure that included; the fuel facilities, offices and workshop, as well as on-site mining activities for the first six years. The extension gives Thiess responsibility for all mining and training along with the operation of the fleet of 49, 793 trucks and five diggers.
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