Murrin Murrin Mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Murrin Murrin Location in Australia | |
| Location | Laverton |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 28°50′59″S 121°50′34″E / 28.849786°S 121.842842°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Nickel Cobalt |
| Production | Nickel: 30,514 t Cobalt: 2,018 t |
| Financial year | 2008 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1999 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Minara Resources (60%) Glencore (40%) |
| Website | Minara website Glencore website |
The Murrin Murrin Joint Venture is a major nickel-cobalt mining operation being conducted in the North Eastern Goldfields, approximately 45 km east of Leonora, Western Australia. The Project was a joint venture between Murrin Murrin Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Minara Resources Ltd (whose share is 60%) and Glenmurrin Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore International AG, which had a 40% share but also owned 70% of Minara. As of November 2011, Minara Resources was fully acquired and is now wholly owned by Glencore International.[1] The mine opened in 1999.[2]
Geology
Murrin Murrin mines a laterite nickel ore formed by deep weathering of a peridotite ultramafic rock.
Problems with the process plant
Significant problems and delays were encountered in the design, construction and commissioning of the ore process plant at Murrin Murrin.[3]
The designers, Fluor Daniel eventually had to pay the joint venture partners A$155 million in an out of court settlement. It was their second successful claim against Fluor, Murrin Murrin owners having been awarded $147 million from the first phase of their claim against Fluor, a sum which ultimately was reduced to $39.8 million. The Murrin Murrin project's original cost estimate of $1 billion had blown out $1.6 billion.[4]
Production
Production of the mine:
| Year | Nickel | Cobalt |
| 2000[2] | 13,027 t | 904 t |
| 2001[2] | 25,991 t | 1,253 t |
| 2002[2] | 30,009 t | 1,838 t |
| 2003 | ||
| 2004[5] | 27,950 t | 1,982 t |
| 2005[5] | 28,240 t | 1,750 t |
| 2006[5] | 31,524 t | 2,096 t |
| 2007[5] | 27,585 t | 1,884 t |
| 2008[5] | 30,514 t | 2,018 t |
| 2013 | 41,285 | Unknown |
| 2014 | Unknown | Unknown |
| 2015 | >44,600 | Unknown |
See also
Sources
- The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, Louthean Media Pty Ltd, Editor: Ross Louthean
References
- ^ Glencore mops up Minara Resources takeover, The Australian, October 14, 2011.
- ^ a b c d The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page: 39
- ^ Nedeljkovic, Zoran. (1998) Andrew Forrest : a key to Murrin Murrin's past and future Mining chronicle (West Perth, W.A.) Late June 1998, p. 6
- ^ Minara handed $155m for Murrin mine fiasco The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 6 May 2004, accessed: 10 September 2009
- ^ a b c d e 2008 MRE Annual report
External links
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