Lisheen Mine
The Lisheen Mine is a lead and zinc mine located between the villages of Moyne and Templetuohy in North Tipperary, Ireland.[1] In the Rathdowney Trend Lisheen is an underground mine where the Lisheen deposit lies at an average depth of 170 metres below surface.
The Rathdowney Trend, stretches 40 kilometres, between the towns of Abbeyleix and Thurles. The region is a broad plain drained by the Rossetown and Drish Rivers, tributaries of the River Suir, which flows into the sea at Waterford. Exploration of the Rathdowney Trend during the late 1960s and early 1970s identified sporadic occurrences of lead and zinc, although the first significant mineralisation was not discovered until 1984. Galmoy Mine is also in the Rathdowney Trend.
The Lisheen Deposit was discovered in April 1990 and development of the mine began in 1997. In September 1999 the first (production) ore was brought to the surface and in December the first shipment of Zinc concentrates departed from the Port of Cork. Lisheen is expected to produce approximately 4.83 million dry metric tonnes of zinc and lead concentrates over the estimated 14-year lifespan of the mine. It is operated by Anglo Base Metals, a subsidiary of Anglo American plc.[2]
The mine is accessed via a 1.5 kilometre long decline, at -15%, 6.3 metres wide by 5 metres high. Underground drilling rigs bore holes in the ore face, which are charged with explosives and fired. The resultant broken ore is removed by large Load Haul Dump (LHD) machines and loaded into trucks which transport the ore to the crusher. The ore is first emptied onto 'grizzly' bars which prevent oversized material from entering the crushing chamber before being fed into the underground crusher. Approximately 6,300 tonnes of ore grade material are transported daily via a conveyor system from the mine to surface where it is stored in a covered stockpile of approximately 12,000 tonnes live capacity prior to processing in the Concentrator plant. Following various process the concentrate is then trucked south to Cork for onward shipment to various customers.
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[edit] Geology
Lisheen is an example of a carbonate hosted lead zinc ore deposit, and the type example of the Irish Type classification thereof.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.lisheenmine.ie/
- ^ Boyle, Pat (2006-08-05). "Lisheen mine operator sees zinc profits up tenfold". Irish Independent (Independent News And Media). http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/lisheen-mine-operator-sees-zinc-profits-up-tenfold-81772.html. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
- Judkin-Fitzgerald Baronets, of Lisheen (1801)
- Sedimentary exhalative deposits
- Ore genesis
- Mining
- Tara Mine
- Galmoy Mine
Coordinates: 52°44′52″N 07°40′24″W / 52.74778°N 7.67333°W
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