OZ Minerals to expand Prominent Hill

Mining contractor Byrnecut has won a contract to expand OZ Minerals’ Prominent Hill copper-gold project in South Australia, with the work expected to cost about $12 million.

OZ Minerals plans to increase underground capacity at Prominent Hill by building a second decline which has the potential to lift peak capacity of the underground mine by about 30 per cent to between 3.5 million and 4 million tonnes per annum.

The second decline will link the existing underground development at Prominent Hill with the open pit.

“Prominent Hill’s underground mine is proving itself to be an excellent asset and we want to invest in its future,” OZ Minerals managing director Andrew Cole said in a statement.

“By building a second decline, we will not only boost the underground’s capacity, we will significantly increase the efficiency of the whole operation and drive down future unit costs.

“Once the second decline is complete in the next two years, truck efficiencies in the underground will increase and we will see other major benefits in terms of ventilation and contingency planning.”

The company also plans to spend about $4 million during the year to target resource-to-reserve conversion.

OZ Minerals shares closed 0.7 per cent lower to $3.77 each.