Operations
Mining
Magellan's mining operations are relatively straightforward due to the shallow nature of the orebody. This also results in a low strip ratio over the mine life estimated at approximately 3:1.
Excavators are used to load ore and waste rock into 85 tonne haulage trucks. Apart from some blasting required for the removal of silcretised overburden, very little of the ore requires drilling and blasting. The ore is mined concurrently from a number of faces to provide a homogeneous blend to the concentrator. It is then stockpiled and further blended on the ROM pad.
Concentrating
Recovery of concentrate from the clean oxidised lead ore is also straightforward. Ore is processed on-site through conventional crushing, milling and flotation concentration. There are none of the complications of a sulphide orebody. When operations at the site recommence the material will be packed direct into bags and must have a moisture content of no less than 7.5%.
Bagging and washing
The concentrate is packed in United Nations and State Government of Western Australia approved double-lined two tonne bags. Each bag is sealed and its exterior vacuumed before being loaded into a steel shipping container. When the shipping container is full it is locked and loaded onto a truck. The truck and container are washed before leaving the site for delivery to the nearest rail terminal at Lenora.
This sealed shipment process (illustrated below) represents a new worldwide safety standard for transporting lead concentrate that goes well beyond recent industry best practice. The key advance is the sealing of the product and elimination of any rehandling of material between the mine site and the customer.
