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News:
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19 November 2008
Market Update - Suspension of Operations at Esperanza Sth
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17 November 2008
Amended Competent Persons Statement - Annual Report
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31 October 2008
Mining 2008 Resources Conference - Brisbane
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30 October 2008
Appendix 4D Half Yearly Report
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30 October 2008
Quarterly Activities Report
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30 October 2008
Teleconference Details
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30 October 2008
Half Yearly Results Presentation to Investors
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30 October 2008
Half Year Accounts
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19 September 2008
Investor Visit
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4 September 2008
Form 604 - Change in substantial holding
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29 August 2008
CEO presentation at AGM
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29 August 2008
Result of meeting
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27 August 2008
Gas Supply Interruption at Nifty Operations
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13 August 2008
Maroochydore Scoping Study and Updated Resources Estimate
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30 July 2008
Annual report 2007-08
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30 July 2008
Notice of Annual General Meeting and Explanoatory Statement
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22 July 2008
ASX release
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30 June 2008
Gas Supply Disruption at Nifty Operations
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25 June 2008
Gas Supply Disruption at Nifty Operations
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10 June 2008
Gas Supply Interruption at Nifty Operations
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6 June 2008
Notice of initial substantial holder
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14 May 2008
Appointment of Chief Financial Officer
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6 May 2008
Details of Dividends
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30 April 2008
Final Director's Interest Notice
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29 April 2008
Annual results FY 2007-08
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29 April 2008
Quarterly activities report
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29 April 2008
Preliminary Final Report and full year statutory accounts
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28 April 2008
Initial Director’s Interest Notice
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28 April 2008
Appointment of Non-Executive Director — CEO elect
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3 April 2008
Aditya Birla Minerals Limited – CEO resignation
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26 March 2008
ASX - MTG - Investors site visit Presentation 2008
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14 March 2008
ASX announcement - Extended shut down
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10 March 2008
Investors Presentation March 2008, lodged with ASX
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31 January 2008
Development of Esperanza South Mine at Mount Gordon, lodged with ASX
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14 January 2008
December 2007 Quarterly Report (teleconference)
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14 January 2008
Third Quarter Report December 2007, lodged with ASX
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15 November 2007
Investor Presentation, lodged with ASX
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30 October 2007
Director Resignation, lodged with ASX
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29 October 2007
Half Yearly Results Presentation to Investors, lodged with ASX
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29 October 2007
Second Quarter Report September 2007, lodged with ASX
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29 October 2007
Half Yearly Report and Accounts, lodged with ASX
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24 October 2007
September 2007 Half Year Report Presentation (teleconference)
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24 August 2007
Initial Director’s Interest Notice, lodged with ASX
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21 August 2007
Director Appointment, lodged with ASX
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20 August 2007
AGM results, lodged with ASX
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20 August 2007
AGM Presentation, lodged with ASX
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23 July 2007
Notice of AGM, lodged with ASX
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17 July 2007
June 2007 Quarterly Report (teleconference)
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16 July 2007
First Quarter Report June 2007, lodged with ASX
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6 July 2007
Annual Report 2006/07, lodged with ASX
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2 July 2007
Final Director’s Interest Notice, lodged with ASX
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29 June 2007
Final Annual Financial Report, lodged with ASX
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27 June 2007
Forthcoming Release of Voluntary Escrowed Securities, lodged with
ASX
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26 June 2007
Director Resignation, lodged with ASX
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18 June 2007
Resources Conference Presentation, lodged with ASX
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26 April 2007
Fourth quarter report March 2007 lodged with ASX
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26 April 2007
Presentation to analysts lodged with ASX
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26 April 2007
Appendix 4E preliminary final report lodged with ASX
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15 March 2007
Market update: Nifty Sulphide Project
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16 January 2007
Third Quarter Report December 2006 lodged with ASX
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16 January 2007
December 2006 Quarterly Report Presentation (teleconference)
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Birla Nifty Operation
Overview
Aditya Birla Minerals’ principal asset is the Nifty copper operation, located in the Great Sandy Desert Region on the East Pilbara in Western Australia, approximately 1,250 km north of Perth and 350 km east of Port Hedland.
The Nifty operation comprises open pit and SX–EW processing operations, and through the recent commissioning of the Nifty Sulphide Operation, an underground mine, a concentrator and associated site infrastructure, with a concentrate storage facility located at Port Hedland.
Figure: Surface layout of the Nifty operation
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Background
Oxide copper was first discovered at Nifty in 1981 by WMC Limited. Drilling of the oxide resource ultimately lead to the discovery of the deep sulphide resource in 1983. WMC commenced an open pit, heap leach, SX–EW operation on the relatively high grade part of the oxide mineralisation in 1993.
The Nifty operation was purchased by Straits Resources Limited in 1998, and then acquired by Aditya Birla Minerals in March 2003. Following the completion of a positive feasibility study, underground development was commenced in January 2004 to exploit the sulphide resource.
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Geology
The Nifty copper deposit is located in the richly mineralised Paterson province, which also hosts the Telfer gold–copper mine, located some 70 km east of Nifty, and lies within a southeast trending synclinal structure plunging gently to the east.
Figure: Geological cross section of the Nifty operations
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Reserves and Resources
Nifty ore reserves and mineral resources as at 31 December 2005 are shown below.
Category |
Tonnes |
Copper (%) |
Metal (tonnes) |
Ore reserves |
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|
Proved |
19,400,000 |
3.0 |
581,000 |
Probable |
6,500,000 |
2.0 |
128,000 |
Total |
25,900,000 |
2.7 |
709,000 |
Recoverable in inventory under leach |
15,600,000 |
0.3 |
48,000 |
Mineral resources |
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|
|
Measured |
24,200,000 |
3.0 |
720,000 |
Indicated |
10,000,000 |
1.9 |
190,000 |
Inferred |
4,800,000 |
1.4 |
70,000 |
Total |
39,000,000 |
2.5 |
980,000 |
Notes
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Ore reserves and mineral resources have been estimated as at 31 December 2005 by Aditya Birla Minerals and classified according to the JORC Code (2004). Ore reserves and resources have been reviewed by Snowden.
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Totals may not add due to rounding.
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Recoverable copper in inventory under leach is additional to proved and probable reserves.
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Mineral resources are inclusive of ore reserves, but exclude recoverable inventory under leach.
The Nifty Sulphide Operation contains estimated underground sulphide ore reserves of approximately 685 kt of copper, with estimated ore reserves of approximately 24 kt defined within the Nifty open pit.
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Nifty Oxide Operation
The open pit operation exploits oxide, transitional and chalcocite mineral resources from which copper cathode is recovered via a heap leach and SX–EW method. The oxide circuit is capable of producing approximately 25 ktpa of copper cathode, which is under contract of sale to Glencore.
Open pit mining operations are expected to cease in June 2006, with leaching to continue for up to a further five years. An initiative is under evaluation to extend the open pit mining by undertaking a cutback of the west end of the open pit to access a significant resource of approximately 2.7 mt of chalcocite and chalcopyrite mineralisation (the Southern Cutback). There is also potential to access further resources at the eastern end of the open pit.
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Nifty Sulphide Operation
Based on its current reserve, the Nifty Sulphide Operation has an expected mine life of 12 years at an average LOM production rate of approximately 60 ktpa using conventional mining and processing methods.
The Nifty Sulphide Operation, which accesses the Nifty sulphide deposit via a decline located immediately north of the open pit, mines chalcopyrite ore treated by standard flotation to produce copper in concentrate. Metallurgical test work conducted during the feasibility study demonstrated an expected recovery of 96% copper to copper in concentrate with a grade of 29% copper.
Ore production from stoping and concentrate production commenced in December 2005 and March 2006 respectively. Concentrate production will progressively ramp up during FY2007, which is subject to underground ore availability and is conservatively expected to reach full ramp up by the end of 2006. At full ramp up the underground mine will have a capacity of 2.3 mtpa and the concentrator plant will have a capacity of 2.5 mtpa.
Concentrate produced is trucked to Port Hedland for shipping to Hindalco Copper’s Dahej smelting and refining facility in India. Copper in concentrate produced is sold to Hindalco under a LOM off–take agreement based on arm’s length terms.
At a LOM production capacity of approximately 60 ktpa, the Nifty Sulphide Operation is one of the largest underground copper mines to be commissioned worldwide this decade.
Figure: Nifty Sulphide Operation concentrator
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