Heron Orders Plant Equipment for Woodlawn

Heron Resources has placed orders for a number of equipment items that are on the critical path for development of its Woodlawn zinc-copper-lead project 250 kilometers (km) southwest of Sydney, New South Wales. Orders for the equipment followed an analysis of the development schedule aimed at identifying the long-lead items on the critical path to first production.

The items are integral to the processing facility and include an IsaMill M10000 fine grinding mill (value US$4.4 million), Outotec flotation cells (value A$4.9 million), and Outotec thickeners (value A$1.2 million.) The IsaMill M10000 product name indicates the volume of the grinding chamber, 10,000 liters.

The orders are expected to have a positive impact on the project’s overall schedule. The processing facility will be delivered in stages that align with mine development. The facility will have a rated throughput capacity of 1.5 million metric tons per year (mt/y) when treating reclaimed tailings and 1 million mt/y when treating underground ore. Plant feed will initially be tailings and will switch to underground ore when it becomes available.

Three separate base metal concentrates will be produced — zinc, copper and lead, with precious metal credits in the copper and lead concentrates. Production is planned at approximately 70,000 dry mt/y of zinc concentrates, 30,000 dry mt/y of copper concentrates, and 25,000 dry mt/y of lead concentrates. Byproduct revenue will be generated from the gold and silver content in the lead and copper concentrates.

Initial capital to develop the Woodlawn project is estimated at A$151.6 million. The project is located on the site of the former Woodlawn mine, which operated from 1978 to 1998.

As featured in Womp 2017 Vol 09 - www.womp-int.com