Operations & financial report
Northparkes
(Rio Tinto: 80 per cent)
Rio Tinto's interest in the Northparkes copper-gold mine in central New South Wales, Australia, resulted from the acquisition of North Ltd. Northparkes is a joint venture with the Sumitomo Group (20 per cent).
Following an initial open pit operation at Northparkes, underground block cave mining has been undertaken since 1997. In November 2006, the joint venture partners approved the development of the E48 block cave project, which will cost US$160 million (Rio Tinto share: US$127 million) and extend the mine's life until 2016. Northparkes employs approximately 220 people.
2007 operating performance
Production was constrained by early closure of the E26 Lift 2 due to the ingress of clay at the underground drawpoints. Ore was and will continue to be sourced from stockpiles, the E22 open pit and the Lift 2 North block cave until production commences from the E48 block cave in 2009.
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ore milled ('000 tonnes) | 5,453 | 5,789 | 5,297 |
| Head grade: | |||
| Copper (%) | 1.12 | 1.53 | 0.91 |
| Gold (g/t) | 0.46 | 0.64 | 0.62 |
| Production of contained metals | |||
| Copper ('000 tonnes) | 54.0 | 83.3 | 43.1 |
| Gold ('000 ounces) | 57.0 | 94.7 | 78.8 |
