Country Australia Opened 1997 | State Queensland Company MMG Century | |
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Products Lead and zinc concentrate | ||
Century mine mpg
Century Mine is a large open cut zinc, lead and silver mine 250 km north northwest of Mount Isa in North West Queensland, Australia. It was built on Waanyi land. It is Australia’s largest open pit zinc mine. The mine was owned by Pasminco, then Zinifex, then OZ Minerals and then sold to MMG Century which belongs to Minmetals Resources.
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Development of the mine commenced in 1997, previously being used for grazing purposes. The mine began open-pit production in 1999.
Zinc and lead concentrate is exported via the port at Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The zinc is especially prized because of its low iron content. The concentrate is mixed with water and transported to the port by a 304 kilometre pipeline.
The mine is serviced by the Century Mine Airport.
During the 2009 wet season contaminants including cadmium, zinc and dissolved sulfate were discharged from the mine into nearby Page Creek. MMG Century was fined $130,000 for the breach.
Mining was completed at Century in August 2015, with final processing of Century-sourced ore occurring in November 2015. The last ore to be processed at Century was 450,000 tonnes that had been mined as part of the Dugald River mine’s stoping trial, and then trucked to Century. The processing of this ore was completed in January 2016. The final shipment of zinc concentrate was exported from Karumba in late January 2016.
