User:Macilence/Draft-MtCarlton

= Mount Carlton = The Mount Carlton project is a multi-metal, gold, silver and copper mine producing metal concentrate for the global market. The mine consists of two open cut operations located 150km southwest of Townsville in North Queensland. The process plant is designed for 800,000tpa Ore throughput for an initial 12 year life. Processing occurs via a gravity circuit and a flotation plant. Filtered concentrate is dispatched from site by truck in bulka bags for export to global copper smelters. The infrastructure includes tailings dam, mine camp, administration building and maintenance workshops. Power is supplied via grid power and water is obtained from local bore fields.

History

 * 2006 – Discovery.
 * Feb 2010 – Definitive Feasibility Study completed
 * Dec 2010 – Conquest Board approves A$126.9m development.
 * Dec 2011 – Queensland Government grants 25 year mining lease.
 * In 2011, Evolution Mining acquired 100% of Mount Carlton via the Catalpa Resources and Conquest Mining merger and the concurrent acquisition of Newcrest Mining’s Cracow and Mt Rawdon gold mines.
 * Dec 2012: Construction completed and commissioning commenced
 * Mar 2013: First concentrate produced
 * Apr 2013: Official mine opening
 * Jul 2013: Commenced commercial production

Geology

 * The Mount Carlton project is a high-sulphidation epithermal style deposit with mineralisation occurring within felsic volcanic rocks on the northern margin of the Permian Bowen Basin. The project comprises gold, silver and copper, primarily as copper arsenic sulphides (enargite) and silver arsenic sulphides (tetrahedrite/polybasite) and some native gold (within pyrite).
 * The Mount Carlton deposit comprises two discrete zones: the large gold dominant V2 deposit and the smaller, silver rich A39 deposit. The V2 deposit is flat lying and situated 20 metres to 180 metres below surface and is 70 metres thick with a 500 metre by 500 metre areal extent. The two deposits are located 200 metres apart.
 * The stratigraphy in the Mt Carlton area is almost flat lying with a gentle 10 degree southerly dip. Sulphide veins dipping at moderate to steep angles to the NW host a majority of the known economic mineralisation. [1]

Production
Mining operations have been planned using a mining contractor with a conventional excavator and haul truck operation, mining 5 metre benches in 2.5 metre flitches. The V2 pit will be mined over nine years. The low-grade ore will be stockpiled and processed after depletion of the high-grade ore, to be processed post completion of open pit mining. Processing involves crushing, grinding and bulk sulphide flotation to produce a polymetallic concentrate. Ore will be processed via conventional technology, consisting of crushing, grinding and bul sulphide flotation to produce a polymetallic concentrate. The Mount Carlton processing plant will have a throughput capacity of 800,000 tonnes per annum. On 27 December 2012 an ASX announcement was made regarding the commissioning of the processing plant had begun. Mt Carlton was then forecast to contribute 25,000 – 30,000oz gold equivalent in FY2013 as it ramps up to full production. The project is expected to produce 720,000oz oz of gold, 14.4Moz of silver and 25,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate over its initial 12-year life. Commenting on this important milestone, Evolution Mining’s Executive Chairman, Jake Klein, said: To commence commissioning of this project within 12 months of receiving the mining lease approval is a tremendous achievement. Mt Carlton is a high-quality project that is expected to become Evolution’s lowest cost gold producer. [2]

Attractions

 * Mount Carlton is the only multi-metal concentrate project of its type in Queensland, implemented during 2012. [3]
 * Only development project for Evolution, top ASX 200 company, plus 1 billion dollar capitalization.
 * Single stream SAG mill grinding circuit, live stockpile feed, bagged concentrate to global off-take agreements.

Flotation
The flotation process is the procedure of separation used primarily within the wastewater treatment and mineral processing industries. Calder Maloney worked with Evolution to successfully implement the flotation plant for the Mt Carlton project. Calder Maloney were the Engineer from concept to implementation.[4] [5]