APP-0001356 - Sorby Hills Silver Lead Zinc Proposal
Proposal
Published: 08 Jul 2022Proposal details
MOUNT GIBSON MINING LIMITED
Manufacturing
Sorby Management Proprietary (Pty) Limited (Ltd) (SMPL) is seeking to develop a new Silver Lead Zinc (Ag Pb Zn) mine at Sorby Hills 50 kilometres (km) north of Kununurra in the east Kimberley Region of Western Australia (WA). The primary Lead mineral is Galena (Lead Sulphide). The Sorby Hills mining tenements M80/196, M80/197, M80/285, M80/286, and M80/287 cover a total area of 12,612.40 hectares (ha). The proposed Sorby Hills Project (the Project) is contained within two of these leases, M80/197 and M80/286, which cover an area of 1,782.27 ha. SMPL will initially target three mineralised ore pods which are to be mined sequentially as separate entities. As mining progresses two of the three ore bodies will be contained within one larger pit; the focus will be on resources within 70 metres (m) of the surface. Between 400,000 and 600,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of ore will be excavated from the open pits and processed through the facility to produce 45,000 tpa of concentrate for export. Processing discharge will require the storage of up to 355,000 tpa of tailings. The expected project life is approximately 14 years, with 10 years anticipated for production and the additional 4 years accounting for the construction and closure phases. The Project will consist of a number of operational components including: * Mine site infrastructure such as run of mine (ROM) pad, haul roads, a mill and concentrator, laboratory, tailings storage facility (TSF) and associated TSF evaporation basin, dewatering evaporation basin, access road, power generation, hardstand area, diesel storage and refuelling area, workshop, site office, explosives magazine, potable water storage tank, bioremediation facility, landfill site, fire breaks and perimeter fence * Transport of concentrate to Wyndham Port via road train * Short term storage and export of concentrate from Wyndham Port The Project is being developed by the Sorby Hills Joint Venture partners KBL Mining Ltd (KBL (formerly Kimberley Metals Ltd) of Australia (75 %) and Yuguang (Australia) Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of China’s largest lead producer, Henan Yuguang Gold and Lead Co., Ltd (HYG&L) (25 %). The Manager of the Joint Venture is SMPL, which is 100 % owned by KBL.
Project stages
6 months years
Please see table 2-2 for the project schedule. Haul roads will first be construction, and existing roads upgraded. Support facilities such as accommodation will be constructed next, followed by the processing plant, evaporation basins and TSF. Pit overburden will be stripped in month 3.
10 years years
3.5 years
Elements and activities
Elements
open pit(s) (above water table)-807
Activities
Mining earthworks/excavation
Blasting
Earthworks
Clearing of native vegetation
processing plant-807
Activities
Ore processing
Construction
Earthworks
supporting Infrastructure (eg offices, workshops, hardstand)-807
Activities
Clearing of native vegetation
Transport
Construction
Water discharge/tailings
Earthworks
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