The Carrapateena mine is a large

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

mine under development in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Far North region Far North may refer to: Places * Far North (Russia), a part of Russia which lies beyond the Arctic Circle * Far North Alaska, United States * Far North (Canada) * Norte Grande, one of the five natural regions of Chile according to CORFO * Far Nor ...

100 km southeast of Olympic Dam and approximately 160km north of

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state c ...

. Carrapateena represents one of the largest

reserves in Australia and in the world having estimated reserves of 292 million tonnes of ore grading 1.31% copper and 3.64 million oz of gold. It was discovered by explorer and metallurgist Rudie Gomez in 2005. The project was acquired by OZ Minerals in 2011, and the project was referred to the EPBC Act for Federal environmental approval in 2012. Construction of the decline to access the mine commenced in 2016. The mining technique used to extract the ore is sub-level caving. The Tjati decline was officially opened in November 2016. The company expected that it would take two years to complete excavation of the decline which is long and descends . The mine owners also have a signed agreement with the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the land, the

Kokatha people The Kokatha, also known as the Kokatha Mula, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of South Australia. They speak the Kokatha language, close to or a dialect of the Western Desert language. Country Traditional Kokatha lands extend o ...

. The company announced board approval for continued development on 24 August 2017, expecting to spend on development before the mine would begin to produce ore in late 2019. The first copper concentrate was produced in December 2019, by which time the mine had cost between $950 million and $980 million. Mine life is forecast to be about twenty years. During the construction time for the decline, surface construction continued. This included an accommodation village and airstrip in 2017-2018. They were followed by processing plant, access road and electricity infrastructure from mid-2018 and installation of underground materials handling. The mine site is on Pernatty Station with other infrastructure on

Oakden Hills Station Oakden is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, located to the northeast of the Central Business District. It was established as a housing estate named ''Regent Gardens'' in 1992 and is located on former Department of Agriculture land. Geograph ...

. Construction of the airstrip was completed in July 2018 with the village providing 550 accommodation rooms completed about a month later. National Jet Express provides

fly-in fly-out Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas by flying them temporarily to the work site instead of relocating employees and their families permanently. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This is ...

services between

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

and Carrapateena since October 2018 using an RJ-100 aircraft. It operates 14 flights per week on the route. The Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) for the mine was approved by the state government on 29 March 2018.

Downer EDI Downer Group is an integrated services company active in Australia and New Zealand. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and New Zealand Stock Exchange as Downer EDI (DOW), Downer is an ASX 100 company. Downer Group employs approxima ...

was then awarded the contract to take over from PYBAR Mining services to continue underground mining operations from 1 July 2018. Downer is also a joint venture partner in the engineering, procurement and construction of above ground facilities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrapateena Mine Gold mines in South Australia Mining in South Australia Far North (South Australia) Copper mines in South Australia