Australian miner Oz Minerals has approved a project worth some A$600 million (US$427 million) to build a hoisting shaft at its Prominent Hill copper-gold mine. The investment is to extend the mine life to 2036 at an annual capacity of 6 million tonnes.
“The shaft mine expansion also enables generational province potential with further mine life extensions possible as 67 million tonnes of resource remains outside the shaft expansion mine plan,” the company said in a statement, adding that the shaft operation is scheduled to begin in 2025.
“The $600 million … investment will increase annual copper production rates by ~23 per cent at a 20 per cent lower operating cost over the cur-rent trucking life of mine estimates,” according to Oz Minerals.
The business is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).