Previously the world’s largest gold mine, Queensland’s now-closed Mount Morgan gold mine will be revitalised with new technology, in a project led by Heritage Minerals and funded with support from the State Government.
Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Cameron Dick, said the Heritage Minerals-led project to reinvigorate the Mount Morgan gold mine would provide financial and environmental benefits to the local community.
“From its proud history as the world’s largest gold mine in the early 1900s, Mount Morgan has been under State Government management to remediate legacy environmental and safety risks for nearly 30 years,” Mr Dick said.
“Heritage Minerals’ proposal to establish a tailings processing plant on the site is a gamechanger with the potential to process nearly 10MT of existing gold ore tailings, recovering an estimated 7.5t of gold and 5,600t of copper.
“The project would create up to 133 full-time local jobs by recommercialising the remaining resources and is expected to generate almost $40 million in new mining royalties to the state over its first seven years of operation.”
Heritage Minerals Managing Director, Malcolm Paterson, said the Queensland Government funding would allow preliminary work of the environmental rehabilitation of the old mine site to recover gold and copper from the mine tailings to now get underway to deliver a project with the potential to support jobs for another 100 years.
“The Mount Morgan mine created so much wealth and prosperity and had wide-ranging impacts, including providing the impetus for the establishment of BP (British Petroleum) as well as the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Australia’s oldest medical research institute,” Mr Paterson said.
“During the mine life, about 250t of gold and 360,000 tonnes of copper were extracted from the mine with about 134MT of waste rock and tailings generated.”
“Our project will respect and protect that proud history, and create new jobs and opportunities for the future of Mount Morgan and the broader region.
“As part of our commitment to the heritage of the mine site and its pivotal role in Australia’s history, we’ve even commissioned a multi-year television documentary about Mount Morgan and the restart of the mine.”
“Given the mine’s storied Queensland history, metals mined from Mount Morgan would also be ideal for production of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games gold, silver and bronze medals.
Mr Paterson said Heritage Minerals has been working closely with the Queensland Government, which has managed the site as an abandoned mine through the Department of Resources, the Australian Government through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and Rockhampton Regional Council on local procurement and job creation.
“All our key permits and approvals, including our environmental authority, are now in place.
“Once we finalise funding and finance approvals with the Australian Government, which we expect within coming weeks, we can commission further preliminary works.
“These works include an access road, administration buildings and a drain to divert freshwater captured on the site to a freshwater water storage as a new way to lessen acid mine drainage that emanates from the site.
“Planning is also underway on the staffing and rostering requirements through the stages of the project’s development,” Mr Paterson said.
