Renison bell

The Renison Bell underground tin mine on the West Coast of Tasmania is one of only a few publicly held tin mines in the world and the only major tin mine in Australia. The mine is owned by Bluestone Mines Tasmania, a joint venture between MetalsX and Yunnan Tin Group, each having a 50 percent interest in the operation.

Tin was Discovered at Renison Bell in the 1890's
The Renison Bell mine is located eight kilometres south of Rosebery in western Tasmania. Mining of tin has had a chequered history in the area since it was discovered there in the 1890's by George Renison Bell, despite mining being almost continuous since that time. Mining of tin at Renison Bell was a marginal proposition until a major four year development plan was introduced at the mine in the late 1950's. Following this initiative the Renison Bell mine became one of the largest underground tin mines in the world.

The Renison Bell Rendeep Orebody was Discovered in the 1990's
The next big development program took place at the Renison Bell mine in the 1990's when the deeper 'Rendeep' ore bodies to the north of if the mine were accessed. The Rendeep Project involved the sinking of a 582 metre deep internal shaft along with the construction of an underground crusher and conveyor system to take the ore to the surface. It also required the extension of the North Renison Decline. However, low tin prices intervened and the mine was closed in june 2003.

Low tin Prices Force Suspension of tin Production at the Renison Bell Mine
The Renison Bell mine was eventually sold to Bluestone Mines Tasmania Pty Ltd resulting in mine production re-commencing in February 2005. Low world tin prices were destined to intervene once again with mining operations being suspended in October 2005. The mine re-opened again in 2009 with full production once more being the 'order of the day.' In the financial year 2009/10 the Renison Bell mine produced 392,000 tonnes of tin ore.

MetalsX and Yunnan Tin Takeover Renison Bell Mine
In March 2010, MetalsX, and Chinese mining company, Yunnan Tin, the largest tin producer in the world, became joint venture owners of Bluestone Mines Tasmania with each company holding 50 percent of the shareholding.

Renison Bell a World Class Orebody
The Renison Bell orebody is a world class hard rock tin deposit. It currently has a resource of 245,000 tonnes of tin metal with 70 percent of it being JORC measured and indicated. It is planning to lift production to between 700,000 and 800,000 tonnes of tin ore a year. In 2012 Bluestone Mines Tasmania increased the mining reserve estimate at Renison Bell by 23 percent and its mineral resource by 13 percent.

Shallow Ore Deposit Overlooked at Renison Bell
Ongoing underground exploration at Renison Bell has identified new zones of high grade tin mineralisation beyond that of the currently identified resource. It has also brought considerable attention to promising mineralisation above the existing development that has apparently been overlooked by previous operators of the mine. These shallower deposits provide an opportunity to be quickly converted into reserves.

The expansion project currently being undertaken at the Renison Bell underground tine mine represents one of the biggest tin resources available anywhere in Australia. MetalsX and Yunnan Tin are in the process of preparing the project for further development.
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