TheCannington Silver and Lead Mineis an Australian underground mine located in north-westQueensland,in theShire of McKinlay,about 200 kilometres (124 mi) southeast ofMount Isa.The deposit was discovered byBHPin 1990.[1]The mine was the supplier of silver for the Sydney2000 Summer Olympicsand the Beijing2008 Summer Olympics.[2]Cannington takes its name from the pastoral property near the deposit.
| Location | |
|---|---|
| State | Queensland |
| Country | Australia |
| Production | |
| Products | |
| Type | Underground |
| History | |
| Opened | 1997 |
| Owner | |
| Company | South32 |
Geography
editCannington lies on a broad plain with a few lowmesas.The plain is crossed by meandering rivers which are dry for a large part of the year, but which flood periodically. The area is semi-arid with 250 millimetres (9.84 in) of annual rainfall falling mostly between November and March. The mine itself lies near the confluence of the Hamilton River and Trepell Creek.[3]
Geology
editThe deposit is inPaleoproterozoictoMesoproterozoic(2500–1000 mya)metamorphosedsedimentary rocks,known as the "Soldier's Cap Group", and is overlain by approximately 60 metres (197 ft) ofCretaceousand more recentoverburden.The deposit was discovered as result of anaeromagnetic surveyof the Soldiers Cap Group in the eastern Mount Isa inlier. The area was selected for survey based upon extrapolations from known prospects and associatedlithostratigraphy.In other words, the rocks were the same as other known prospects, only slightly more deeply buried. The aeromagnetic survey pinpointed Cannington as a potential site and subsequent drilling proved it out.
The theory of formation of the Cannington deposit, and the related deposits atMcArthur River,Century,Mount Isa,Hilton,andGeorge Fisher,is explored in a 2005 paper by Large,et al.[4]
The major ore minerals aregalenaandsphalerite.The silver occurs mainly asfreibergitebut is also present in solid solution within the galena.
Mining
editThe deposit was discovered byBHPin 1990.[1]Although sitework and underground mining began in 1997, full production was not achieved until early 1999, with 1.5 million tons of ore processed in 1999.[3]Production since has reached 3 million tons of ore per year.[3]As of 2010[update]it was the largest and lowest cost silver and lead mine in the world.[5][6]The expected life of the Cannington mine is 25 years.[6]
Management
editOn 19 August 2014,BHPannounced it was splitting the company in two with Cannington Mine amongst the assets transferred toSouth32.[7]
Facilities
editThe mine site is serviced by road fromMcKinlayand the privateTrepell Airport.A small housing settlement exists on site for mine workers, consisting of 270 short term accommodation rooms, 364 village rooms, and serving about 67 000 meals per month.[8]Employment is given as about 600 people and a further 300 to 400 contractors, of which 70% of the mine workers are estimated to befly-in fly-out(FIFO) fromTownsville.[9]The mine site has a 3megawattsolar farm to reduce gas consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity generated by the solar farm is used to supply the operation’s accommodation village and airport with surplus power used to support mining and processing operations. It is anticipated that the solar farm will prevent between 4,000 and 6,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.[10]Two deaths have occurred at the site, a 19-year-old trainee driller on 15 December 2006, and a fifty-one-year-old contractor on 17 January 2008.[11][12]
Notes
edit- ^abWalters, Stephen; Skrzeczynski, Bob; Whiting, Tom; Bunting, Frank; Arnold, Gary (2002). "Discovery and Geology of the Cannington Ag-Pb-Zn Deposit, Mount Isa Eastern Succession, Australia: Development and Application of an Exploration Model for Broken Hill-Type Deposits". In Goldfar, Richard J.; Nielsen, Richard L. (eds.).Integrated methods for discovery: Global exploration in the 21st Century.Littleton, Colorado:Society of Economic Geologists.pp. 93–116.ISBN978-1-887483-91-9.AbstractArchived2011-02-25 at theWayback Machine
- ^"McKinlay".Tourism & Events Queensland.Retrieved24 February2020.
- ^abcStaff (2011)."Cannington Silver and Lead Mine, Queensland, Australia".Mining-technology.com of Net Resources International.Archivedfrom the original on 26 February 2013.
- ^Large, Ross R.; Bull, Stuart W.; McGoldrick, Peter J.; Walters, Stephen (2005). "Stratiform and strata-bound Zn-Pb-Ag deposits in Proterozoic sedimentary basins, northern Australia". In Hedenquist, Jeffrey W. (ed.).Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Volume: 1905-2005.Littleton, Colorado: Society of Economic Geologists. pp. 931–963.ISBN978-1-887483-01-8.
- ^Obel, Mike (15 December 2011)."10 Biggest Silver Mines in the World".International Business Times.Archivedfrom the original on 26 May 2013.
- ^ab"Cannington".Mine Sites: Major Mining Operations Around the World. 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2010.
- ^http://m.asx.com.au/m/company-info.xhtml?issuerCode=S32[permanent dead link]
- ^"Cannington Overview: Analyst and Investor Field Trip"(PDF).BHP Billiton. 3 June 2005.Retrieved24 February2020.
- ^RAGGATT, Tony (10 April 2015)."BHP to shed up to 70 jobs at Cannington mine".Townsville Bulletin.Retrieved24 February2020.
- ^"NEW SOLAR FARM FOR CANNINGTON".South32.Retrieved26 November2021.
- ^"Two deaths in 13 months despite audit warnings".The Courier-Mail.2 February 2008.Retrieved24 February2020.
- ^"Findings - Coroners Court".Queensland Courts.State of Queensland (Queensland Courts).Retrieved24 February2020.
Auld, Michael Earle. Mining inquest, service crew member crushed between working platform on loader and tray of Landcruiser, safe working procedures, safety awareness. File 2008/256 (26/08/2013)