Olympic Dam Copper-Uranium Mine, Adelaide, Australia
Key Data:
Producer of
Copper, uranium and gold
Location
580km inland from Adelaide, South Australia
Ownership
WMC Resources (100%)
Geology Type
Hydrothermal breccia orebody
Mineral Type
Copper sulphides, pitchblende
Reserve Base
761Mt proven and probable, grading 1.5% copper, 0.5g/t gold and 0.6kg/t U3O8 (2004)
Annual Production
8.2Mt ore containing 204,300t of copper, 4,300t of uranium oxide, 102,200oz of gold and 896,000oz of silver (2005/06)
Mining Method
Underground sub-level open stoping with backfill
Processing Method
Copper concentrator, hydrometallurgical plant for uranium recovery, copper smelter, sulphuric acid plant, copper refinery and precious metals refinery, gold plant
Employment
1,000
Key Equipment:
Underground
Atlas Copco and Sandvik (Tamrock) drill rigs
Caterpillar LHDs and mine trucks
Concentrator
Svedala autogenous mill, Warman International pumps and cyclones
