Infrastructure & Mining

Mincor’s mines may be classified as narrow-vein underground mining operations.  Mincor employs a variety of specialised mining techniques to extract the ore.  These techniques are designed to optimise the trade-off between production and dilution, as well as maximising the overall extraction of the ore body.

In narrow-vein mining high-production mechanised mining methods generally incur higher dilution (the waste rock that is unavoidably mined together with the ore) than does low production hand-held mining methods, which produces a lower rate of production but a higher grade of ore.

In addition to this trade-off between production rate and dilution, different mining methods are required to take account of different ore body configurations, ore widths and ground conditions.

Mincor is an expert in most of the standard narrow-vein mining techniques, and has developed a number of innovative variations to suit its particular ore bodies.  Broadly, Mincor's mining methods fall under the general category of cut and fill mining, which means that excavations from which ore has been extracted are subsequently back-filled with waste rock in order to maintain the stability of the rock mass.

Mincor's mines are accessed via declines developed from surface.  These declines are major items of capital infrastructure, and once developed become significant assets in that they allow access to further, deeper ore bodies which may be discovered in the near environment.  In addition, vertical shafts, both to surface and internally through the mine, are used for ventilation and, in some mines, as escapeways, and also constitute major items of capital infrastructure.

Broadly, mining proceeds via level development of the ore body, itself accessed via a ramp off the main decline.  Once level development is complete, stoping occurs using a variety of methods, followed by backfilling of the empty stopes.  The ore is trucked to a surface stockpile from where it is trucked to the concentrator plant in Kambalda using a local haulage contractor.

Mincor's mines are a mixture of contract mining (Barminco at Miitel and Mariners, and RUC at Carnilya Hill) and owner-mining (Otter-Juan, Redross and Wannaway).  At the contractor-operated mines Mincor provides the engineering design and mine planning, as well as the geological and survey services, while the contractor is responsible for the drilling and blasting of the rock (ore and waste) and its transport to surface.

Mincor's operations benefit from their location in an established mining camp.  Reticulated power and water is used at all mine sites, and a wide array of services and spare parts are available locally.

Mincor endeavours to operate its mines with locally based staff (residential in Kambalda or Kalgoorlie) and offers financial incentives for staff to relocate residentially.  However the reality of the modern industry, and the severe skills shortage in Western Australia, has necessitated that Mincor also provide a fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) option for employees.  Thus Mincor's mines are a mixture of residential and FIFO, and it operates a modern and amenity-rich mining village near its Mariners Mine (the Lake Eaton Village).