More mine pit water will be treated at the abandoned Mount Morgan Mine under new management arrangements for the onsite lime-dosing water treatment plant. Queensland’s Department of Natural Resources and Mines has entered into a management agreement with Raging Bull Metals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Carbine Resources, to manage and operate the onsite water treatment plant.
The arrangement requires Raging Bull to deliver up to 500 megalitres of treated mine pit water in return for a $2.50/kilolitre payment for an initial 12-month contract period. The water treatment plant will also be retrofitted with an additional treated water polishing circuit that will eliminate the ongoing need for fresh water supply to operate the plant, making it completely self-sufficient.
There are a number of obvious benefits to flow from this new management arrangement. Firstly, the installation of a treated water polishing circuit will mean treated pit water can be used to operate the lime-dosing process and the plant instead of relying only on fresh water supplies. This will improve operational efficiency at the plant and greater volumes of pit water will be treated each year, even when the on-site fresh water dam has run dry.That will keep water levels in the mine open cut pit to a minimum; thereby reducing the risk of uncontrolled overflows of untreated water into the Dee River.
It will also allow water levels in Dam 8 to be maintained at a lower level and provide additional surge capacity to contain heavy rainfall and prevent surface run-off reaching the mine pit.
Finally, the management agreement will achieve cost savings for DNRM as the water treatment plant currently costs approximately A$1.4 million each year to operate.
The Queensland Government has been managing legacy mining issues and ongoing remediation of the historic Mount Morgan mine site since 1992 through the department’s Abandoned Mine Lands Program. The lime-dosing water treatment plant has been operating onsite since 2008 and is used to remove metal contaminants and neutralise pH levels before treated pit water is allowed to enter the Dee River.
Carbine is currently doing feasibility studies into the potential to reprocess mineral tailing stockpiles on the mine site and has a commercial arrangement with Norton Gold Fields which holds mining leases over the Mount Morgan mine site.
Carbine’s Executive Director, Patrick Walta, said the company is excited by the opportunity to assist the Queensland Government with remediation activities at Mount Morgan. “The optimisation of the existing water treatment plant on site provides an important first step toward economic rehabilitation of the historic mine area and surrounds. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the state and other stakeholders in delivering successful outcomes for the overall site remediation project.”
Water management will be a major article in the March issue of International Mining. If you wish to contribute editorial to this contact [email protected]
