AUSTRALIA IS POISED FOR A NEW ERA OF MINING GROWTH

www.australianmining.com.au In the wake of the mining downturn, the industry However, battery minerals, such as lithium, have has recovered to re-affirm its place as a major driver started to show their value in the future of the of the Australian economy. industry. The coming years will reinforce this position as Geographically, Western leads the way with dozens of projects or expansions develop into projects at the committed and feasibility stage. Australia’s next generation of mines. Queensland is also set for expansion with upcoming In the Australian Government’s latest report on developments in a diverse range of commodities, resources, more than 25 mining projects had reached including coal, gold and copper. the committed status, with dozens more in the In this white paper, Australian Mining summarises the feasibility stage. major projects that are set to make an impact on the Australia’s leading commodity exports – , mining landscape in the coming years, with primary coal and gold – continue to provide the next phase focus on those that the Australian Government rates of development. with the committed status (as fourth quarter 2018).

Western Australia two main components, a ventilation upgrade and paste Gold Road Resources / Gold Fields, Gruyere, Western aggregate fill. has forecast Gwalia to produce Australia, gold 290,000 ounces of gold a year by the 2022 financial year. The Gruyere joint venture is set to pour first gold at the Gruyere project in during the June Blackham Resources, Wiluna-Matilda expansion, 2019 quarter. Gold Road reported that first ore had been Western Australia, gold mined at the $621 million project in January 2019. The Blackham hopes to expand its Matilda-Wiluna gold Gruyere site, Western Australia’s newest greenfields operation into a mine that produces 200,000 ounces a gold discovery to be developed, is currently expected year with this project. The company is, however, already to produce 300,000 ounces a year over a 12-year mine producing at the site at a rate of almost 20,000 ounces life. Downer EDI has been appointed as Gruyere’s mining each quarter. In August 2017, Blackham released an contractor. expansion preliminary feasibility study that confirmed a capital efficient growth project that would cost $114 million. Blackham restarted open pit mining for the first time in 10 years at Wiluna in October 2017.

Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, Superpit expansion Western Australia, gold KCGM, the joint venture between Newmont Mining and , is expanding the in -Boulder for the first time in a decade. The JV started mining the Morrison layback in November 2018 with the first production blast in the area. The layback, the first at the mine since Golden Pike in 2009, is at the southern end of the Fimiston open pit. It has been called the Morrison starter pit.

Fortescue Metals Group, Eliwana, Western Australia, iron ore Fortescue approved the development of the Eliwana mine and rail project in the during May 2018. The $1.7 billion project involves 143 kilometres of rail, St Barbara, Gwalia extension, Western Australia, gold a new 30 million tonnes per annum dry ore processing St Barbara approved the project to extend the historic facility and infrastructure. Fortescue expects production to at least 2000 metres below surface to begin at Eliwana in December 2020. The project in March 2017. The $100 million project, which remained underpins the company’s introduction of a 60 per cent on track after the December 2018 quarter, is expected iron ore product in late 2018. Eliwana is located west of to take up to three years to complete. It consists of Fortescue’s Solomon Hub operations. Mount Gibson Iron, Koolan Island restart, Western Australia, iron ore Mount Gibson expects to complete the Koolan Island restart project off the Kimberley coast in the March 2019 quarter. Operations at Koolan Island were suspended in November 2014 following a seawall failure that resulted in the flooding of the Main Pit. Mount Gibson approved the restart project in April 2017 after two years of evaluation work. The high-grade Main Pit has ore reserves of 21 million tonnes at 65.5 per cent iron.

Rio Tinto, Robe Valley / West Angeles expansion, Western Australia, iron ore and its joint venture partners approved a $1.55 billion investment to sustain production capacity at two projects that form part of Robe River last October. The investment includes developing the Mesa B, C and H deposits at Robe Valley, and the Deposits C and D at West Angeles. Rio Tinto will sustain production of the Pilbara Talison Lithium, Greenbushes expansion, Western Blend and Robe Valley lump and fine iron ore products Australia, lithium with the project. First ore is expected in 2021. Talison, a JV between Tianqi Lithium and Albemarle Corp, has committed to multiple expansions at Greenbushes BHP, South Flank expansion, Western Australia, iron ore in recent years. The latest expansion, announced in the BHP approved the $US3.4 billion investment in the South first half of 2018, will double the production capacity at Flank iron ore project in the Pilbara in June 2018. The Greenbushes to 2.3 million tonnes of lithium concentrate project is being developed to fully replace production a year from 2021. It will add output feed hydroxide plants from the 80 million tonnes per annum Yandi mine as being built in the state by the JV partners. Greenbushes is the site heads towards the end of its economic life. BHP already the world’s largest lithium mine. will expand the existing infrastructure at Mining Area C, including construction of an 80 million tonne per annum Tianqi Lithium Australia, Kwinana lithium plant, Western crushing and screening plant, an overland conveyor Australia, lithium system, stockyard and train loading facilities, and more. Tianqi is spending more than $700 million at Kwinana First ore is expected in 2021. near Perth on a two-stage lithium hydroxide plant. The first stage of the project had entered a commission phase , Cataby, Western Australia, mineral by the start of 2019. The second stage is progressing sands throughout 2019 before an expected finish before the end Iluka approved development of the Cataby minerals of the year. The Kwinana plant is expected to become the sands project 150 kilometres north of Perth in December world’s largest producer of battery-grade lithium hydroxide 2017 after securing off-take agreements for 85 per cent at 48,000 tonnes a year. of production from the site. Cataby is a large chloride ilmentite deposit, which will also underpin the continued Kidman Resources, Mount Holland mine, Western production of 200,000 tonne per year of synthetic rutile Australia, lithium from the company’s Synthetic Rutile kiln 2 site at Capel in Kidman, with joint venture partner Sociedad Quimica the state’s South West region. The project is costing up to y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), is developing the $849 $275 million to develop. million lithium project in the Goldfields region of WA. In a pre-feasibility study released December 2018, Kidman Image Resources, Boonanarring, Western Australia, forecast Mt Holland to be a long-life, low-cost operation mineral sands with projected annual production of 45,254 tonnes of LiOH Image Resources launched production of heavy mineral and a 47-year mine life. Kidman also has plans to develop concentrate at the Boonanarring site in the North Perth a refinery at Kwinana near Perth to produce battery-grade Basin in November 2018. The company, which started refined lithium. construction on the $235 million project in March 2018, reported the first bulk shipment of concentrate from the Mineral Resources, Wodgina processing plant, Western Bunbury Port in January. Image will ramp up production to Australia, lithium a steady state of around 500 tonnes per hour at the site MinRes plans to fund, design, build and operate a over the first half of 2019. lithium hydroxide plant at Wodgina in the Pilbara with Albemarle after the companies formed a joint venture in a stage four pit cut back and plant modifications. November 2018. The JV partners have proposed to develop Evolution will bring forward production from Mt the plant over two stages, with the first stage expected Carlton’s high-grade zone with the projects. It expects to produce at least 50,000 tonnes per annum of lithium to deliver first ore from the underground operation hydroxide. The second stage is expected to increase during the 2021 financial year. production from the plant to 100,000 tonnes per annum of lithium hydroxide. South Australia BHP, Olympic Dam expansion, South Australia, Queensland copper Rio Tinto, Amrun expansion, Queensland, bauxite BHP has committed to a series of expansion projects at Rio Tinto achieved first shipment of bauxite from Olympic Dam in recent years, including a $350 million Amrun in Far North Queensland six weeks ahead of investment to upgrade the surface operations. The schedule in December 2018. The $2.6 billion project project, the largest planned shutdown undertaken at is replacing production from Rio Tinto’s now-depleted the asset, ran for over 100 days from August 2017. BHP East Weipa mine, expanding the company’s presence also used the opportunity to carry out major upgrade on the Western Cape. Rio Tinto will ramp up operations works on Olympic Dam’s refinery, concentrator, other to a full production rate of 22.8 million tonnes a year key infrastructure and site technology. during 2019. The Amrun project was originally approved by Rio Tinto in November 2015. OZ Minerals, Carrapateena, South Australia, copper- gold QCoal Group, Byerwen, Queensland, coal OZ Minerals’ next major copper project, Carrapateena, QCoal is developing the Byerwen open cut project is expected to reach production in the December in the Bowen Basin to eventually produce 10 million quarter of 2019. The Adelaide-based company tonnes of metallurgical coal a year. The company started approved development of the $916 million project in construction and mining operations at the site in 2017 after August 2017 and has created over 1000 jobs at the site. securing the mining leases it needed in May of that year. It expects the operation to annually produce 65,000 QCoal has appointed as the Byerwen tonnes of copper and 67,000 ounces of gold over a 20- mining contractor, while Sedgman is developing the year mine life once it is developed. Downer EDI is the minerals processing operations. underground contractor at Carrapateena.

Copper Mountain Mining, Cloncurry, Queensland, copper Quantum Graphite, Uley, South Australia, graphite Copper Mountain Mining Corp (CMMC) added the Formerly Valence Industries, Quantum Graphite is Cloncurry project to its portfolio after acquiring Altona resurrecting the Uley mine, where operations have Mining for $93 million in 2018. The Canadian company has been suspended since December 2015. The project, since also added a listing on the ASX as it edges towards 23 kilometres south-west of Port Lincoln, involves developing the site. CMMC released a feasibility study the recommissioning of existing graphite mining and for the Cloncurry project in October 2018 that estimated processing operations. The company will use existing a $350 million capital cost to develop the site. It has not, plant, utilities, community engagement and associated however, made a decision to start construction. infrastructure. South Australian approvals for the restart were granted in mid 2017. Citigold Corp, Charter Towers expansion, Queensland, gold New South Wales Citigold plans to expand its Charter Towers project into Diversified Minerals, Dargues Reef (Majors Creek), an operation that produces 218,000 ounces a year. The New South Wales, gold underground operations at the Central and Imperial Diversified Minerals expected to start construction of mining areas remained on care and maintenance during the Dargues gold project during February 2019. The the December 2018 quarter, with no gold production. company was set to reach this milestone after awarding The Central mine will be opened first by Citigold, which the engineering, procurement and construction continues to refine its designs and strategies for the site. (EPC) contract for the Dargues to DRA Global. Dargues has been designed to produce an average of Evolution Mining, Mt Carlton, Queensland, gold 50,000 ounces of gold a year in the first six years of Evolution Mining approved a $60 million investment in production. DRA is developing a 355,000 tonne per three projects at the Mt Carlton mine in October 2018. annum gold processing facility and backfill plant. First The projects include an underground development, ore is expected in early 2020.