Fresh news, MMG owned Century zinc mine will close 1 year...

Fresh news, MMG owned Century zinc mine will close 1 year earlier than expected, the smaller replacement Dugald River zinc mine will miss 1st shipment target in 2015. This will bring down the Zinc stock level down even faster. Remember, Century mine is the mother of all zinc mines. Awesome for Zinc price. Looks like we never run out of zinc deficit news.
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Mega zinc mine set to close in 2015
December 20, 2013 - 3:40PM

Australia's largest open-cut zinc mine is set close in 2015, affecting hundreds of workers.

The Century Zinc mine, near Mount Isa, achieved record mining rates this year, meaning zinc metal reserves will be exhausted one year earlier than anticipated.

The mine has about 900 employees and contractors, including many indigenous drive-in, drive-out workers.

Owner MMG says it will investigate opportunities to convert the remaining minerals to ore reserves, but expects open-pit production to cease in mid-2015.

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t Isa Mayor Tony McGrady says it was well known that the mine was nearing the end of production and he doesn't expect the community to be adversely affected.

"I can't see it having much of an effect on Mt Isa because most of the workers there are FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) workers," Cr McGrady told AAP.

But he's hopeful Century Mine's indigenous workers will have the opportunity to explore an untapped resource nearby.

The former Labor minister says there is a "huge" uranium deposit in the Gulf that's just waiting to be mined.

"My timescale was always if the Queensland government was to lift the ban on uranium mining then the huge deposit in the Gulf Country would be able to employ and train some of the indigenous people from the Century Mine," he told AAP.

Queensland's government lifted the ban on uranium mining in October last year, saying the state deserves the wealth and jobs it will create.

Mr McGrady says Mt Isa will be in business again if a uranium mine opens up in the region.

Century Mine is about 250km northwest of Mt Isa and has just over three million tonnes of contained zinc metal left.

MMG chief executive officer Andrew Michelmore said the mine has produced more than six million tonnes of zinc to date.

The company is investigating options for the Century processing facility and associated infrastructure.

Source: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/mega-zinc-mine-set-to-close-in-2015-20131220-2zpkm.html


ALSO


DUGALD RIVER PROJECT TO MISS 1ST SHIPMENT TARGET
BRISBANE, Dec 19

The $1.5B Dugald River zinc-lead-silver project in Australia’s NW Queensland won’t achieve its previously announced first concentrate shipment in late 2015.
And last production from the mighty Century mine, Australia’s largest open-cut zinc mine, is expected in mid-2015.
Both these big projects, 234km apart, are owned by 73.7% China Minmetals Corp controlled MMG, with the much slowed Dugald River project expected to partially fill the Century void. The company gave no indication of production or a new first shipment date as a complete review of the operation continues.
However, MMG has approved an additional $57M to progress trial stoping and diamond drilling throughout 2014 at Dugald River, near Cloncurry, one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc-lead-silver deposits.

Source: http://www.miningbusiness.net/content/dugald-river-project-miss-1st-shipment-target