Rosebery

The Rosebery underground polymetallic base metal mine has been in continuous operation for over 77 years. It is situated in the picturesque mountain village of Rosebery on the West Coast of Tasmania, 125 kilometres south of the North West Coast town of Burnie. The on site concentrator, a part of the Rosebery processing plant, has been in continuous operation for over 75 years therefore creating a piece of Australian mining history. Its mine life is currently extended to 2024 at present production levels.

Rosebery Mine has a Capacity to Process 700,000 Tonnes of Ore Annually

The production capacity of the Rosebery Mine is around 700,000 tonnes of ore a year that is processed on site to create zinc, lead and copper concentrate as well as silver and gold dore. Zinc produced at the Rosebery Mine is mostly used for galvanising steel to prevent corrosion, copper is used for making electrical wiring and lead in the making of electrical storage batteries.

Rosebery Orebody Stretches for Four Kilometres and is 1.5Kkilometres Thick

The Rosebery Mine ore body lies in a north south direction stretching over a distance of four kilometres and extending to a depth of 1.5 kilometres. Because the ore body is highly mineralised with a number of different metals it creates a significant cost advantage over other mines because of the value of its by-products.

Mechanised Open Stoping Method Used at the Rosebery Mine

The method used to mine the underground ore at the Rosebery Mine is the usual mechanised open stoping method. The mine itself consisting of a number of tunnels called ramps or declines to give access from the underground mining operations to the surface infrastructure.

Development Jumbos Drill Horizontal Holes

Development jumbos are used underground to drill horizontal holes into the rock to about 3.5 metre depths. They are then charged with explosives and blasted. The loosened rock is then removed by a loader. The walls and roof are made stable by the development jumbos installing steel mesh, rock bolts, cable bolts and shotcrete. This is then repeated over and over which results in tunnel development.

Production Drill Rigs Create Stopes

Production drill rigs are used at the Rosebery Mine to drill 30 to 40 metre long holes stretching from one level to another. They are also loaded and blasted and the blasted rocks removed by loaders leaving a large empty space known as a stope. The stopes are then filled with waste rock to prevent any cave ins occurring.

Rosebery Underground Haulage Trucks Travel 60,000 Kilometres Each a Year.

A fleet of 50 tonne trucks are then loaded with the loosened ore and taken from the mine via the decline. Once on the surface it is crushed and processed. The haulage trucks that never leave the mine site, travel a distance of 60,000 kilometres annually. This is the same as traveling one and a half times around the world.

Rosebery Mine Owned by MMG

The owner of the Rosebery Mine is MMG which is majority owned by
China Minmetals Nonferrous Metals Company Limited (CMN), a fully owned subsidiary of China Minmetals Corporation (CMC). Minerals and Metals Group (MMG) was formed in 2009 when OZ Minerals Limited was acquired by China Minmetals (CMN). In September 2012 the name MMG was formally adopted as the company's registered name.