Darwin, 22 January 2009
Xstrata Zinc Australia’s McArthur River Mining (MRM) welcomed today’s draft decision by the Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett to recommend approval of the McArthur River Mine expansion.
Minister Garrett advised key stakeholders that he intends to approve, with conditions, the proposal for MRM’s open-pit expansion.
Xstrata Zinc Australia Chief Operating Officer, Brian Hearne said Minister Garrett’s decision was welcomed and supported the fact that the original approval of 2006 was correct.
“But we still have uncertainty about a final decision from Minister Garrett and his decision could still be weeks away.
“It is a pity that this decision has taken this long as it has put MRM in a difficult position. The cost of the delay to our business and our suppliers’ businesses is irrecoverable.
“The reality is that we run out of our zinc-lead ore stockpiles at MRM within the next days,” Mr Hearne said. “During the week we sought to treat sub-standard ore which was unsuccessful and we therefore have exhausted stockpiles earlier than anticipated.
“Until we have a final decision from Minister Garrett, we have no choice but to transition to care and maintenance. This means ceasing all on-site operational activities in a safe, systematic and appropriate manner.
“As part of this transition, we will be briefing our MRM staff and ensuring that the site is in a suitable condition to restart immediately following the receipt of final approval.”
All mining and rehabilitation work ceased on 17 December 2008 following a decision by the Full Bench of the Federal Court to uphold an appeal against Justice Mansfield’s judgment in June 2008 that the decision by the Federal Environment Minister to approve the mine was invalid because of procedural errors by the Commonwealth Government.
The legal action and Federal Court decision was only ever about the process followed by the Commonwealth Government in giving consent to the mine’s $110 million open pit development, following approval by the Northern Territory Government. It was never about the potential benefits and impacts of the project itself. These have already been assessed.
Ends
For more information contact:
Kathy Mac Dermott
Rowland, General Manager Corporate Communication
Telephone: +61 (0)7 3229 4499
Mobile: 044 88 44 508
Email: kmacdermott@rowland.com.au
Notes to editors:
MRM mines one of the largest known zinc and lead deposits in the world and is the largest bulk zinc concentrate producer in the world.
ABOUT XSTRATA PLC
Xstrata is a global diversified mining group, listed on the London and Swiss Stock Exchanges, with its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. Xstrata’s businesses maintain a meaningful position in seven major international commodity markets: copper, coking coal, thermal coal, ferrochrome, nickel, vanadium and zinc, with a growing platinum group metals business, additional exposures to gold, cobalt, lead and silver, recycling facilities and a suite of global technology products, many of which are industry leaders. The Group's operations and projects span 18 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, New Caledonia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, the USA and the UK. Xstrata employs approximately 56,000 people, including contractors.
ABOUT XSTRATA ZINC
Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, Xstrata Zinc is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc and one of the commodity business units within the major global diversified mining group Xstrata plc. Xstrata’s zinc and lead operations and exploration projects are located in Australia, Canada, Germany, Peru, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Xstrata Zinc’s operations in Spain comprise the San Juan de Nieva zinc smelter and the Arnao zinc semis plant in Asturias, and the Hinojedo roasting plant in Cantabria.
In Australia, assets comprise: the Mount Isa, George Fisher underground, Handlebar Hill open-cut and Black Star open-cut zinc-lead mines, zinc-lead concentrator, lead smelter and Bowen Coke Works in north Queensland; the McArthur River open-pit zinc-lead mine, processing and port operations in the Northern Territory; and 75% of the Lady Loretta zinc-lead deposit in north-west Queensland.
In Canada, operations and exploration projects include the Brunswick zinc-lead mine and lead smelter in New Brunswick; 25% of the CEZ zinc smelter near Montreal; and the Perseverance zinc deposit in Quebec.
Xstrata Zinc also operates the Nordenham zinc smelter in northern Germany; the Northfleet lead refinery in the United Kingdom; and owns 33.75% of the Antamina mine in Peru.
Around half of all zinc currently consumed is used for galvanizing steel, which is an environmentally friendly method of protecting steel against corrosion. Zinc also finds application in the manufacture of die-cast alloys, brass and the production of zinc oxides and chemicals.