Thalanga Zinc Project, Queensland, Australia

Mining & Minerals - Evaluations / Other Metals

The Thalanga zinc project is located 60 km south-west of the city of Charters Towers in Queensland, Australia. Red River Resources, the owner of the project, conducted a study to assess the viability of recommencing the project. Announced in November 2015, the positive study results recommended restarting production at the Thalanga processing plant, which has been on care and maintenance since 2012. The study estimated the project would require a pre-production capital of A$17.7 million ($13.09 million) and forecasts it to generate a life of mine (LOM) revenue of A$628 million ($464.52 million). The initial LOM is estimated to be more than five years, with a significant extension potential. The mine is estimated to produce 21,400 tonnes of zinc, 3,600 tonnes of copper, 5,000 tonnes of lead, 2,000 oz of gold and 370,000 oz of silver a year during the initial LOM. Refurbishment works at the processing plant began in November 2016, while production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2017.

Thalanga comprises the biggest pyritic body of copper-lead-zinc-silver mineralisation within the Mount Windsor Volcanics. Mineralization at the deposit is hosted in stratiform sulphide lenses and stringer zones developed within quartz eye volcanoclastics located between a dacite hanging wall and a rhyolite footwall. The Waterloo deposit holds As of June 2015 estimates, the Thalanga mine holds 2.4 Million tonnes of mineral resources, including 591,000 tonnes at the West 45 deposit, 1.1 Million tonnes at the Far West deposit and 707,000 tonnes at the Waterloo deposit,the highest grade deposit grading 19.1% zinc. The ore reserve at the West 45 deposit is estimated to be 421,000 tonnes of proven reserves.

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