Mount Oxide remediation project
The Mount Oxide ore body was discovered by Ernest Henry in 1882. Higher-grade ore was worked by underground methods from 1927 to 1943 and again from 1955 to 1960, while the lower-grade envelope and remnants of high-grade ore were mined by open cut from 1967 to 1971.
The Mount Oxide site has significant legacy mine features including an open-cut pit, water impoundments, residual stockpiles, leach heaps and overburden dumps.
Since the cessation of leases, we have managed the site, focusing on minimising the impacts of mine-related acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD).
An exploration lease (EPM 10313) over the project is held by True North Copper Limited.
- View a glossary of mining terms used on this page.
Project snapshot
Region: North-west Queensland
Location: 140km north of Mount Isa, Latitude -19.480642, Longitude 139.389725
Commodity: Copper
Mining type: Underground and open cut
Date of abandonment: August 1999
Status: Remediation ongoing
Native title interest: Kalkadoon People represented by Kalkadoon Native Tile Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC
Public land registers: Listed on the Environmental Management Register
Photo gallery
Key risks
Health and safety risks associated with high wall in open pit, waste rock stockpile and historic shaft/mine entrance.
Environmental risks associated with:
- release of AMD to the downstream environment
- ingestion by livestock of mineral precipitates (salts) and mine-affected water outside stock water guidelines
- groundwater contamination.
Completed works
- HDPE liner installed over waste rock dumps to reduce water ingress and subsequent release of AMD.
- Installation of groundwater monitoring bores.
- Installation of catch dams and pump-back systems to minimise AMD water leaving the site.
- Installation of freshwater diversion away from stockpiles to prevent freshwater interaction with potentially acid forming materials.
- Major upgrades to water management infrastructure to mitigate acid and metalliferous drainage entering downstream environment, including:
- catchment diversion drains at waste rock dump base
- freshwater diversion drain on eastern side of site
- raising existing catchment dam wall to increase retention of contaminated water
- new embankment to mitigate contaminated waters entering adjacent waterway.
- Solar pump back system.
Planned works
- Continued environmental monitoring.
- Maintenance of the pump back system.
- Maintenance of the telemetry system.
- Further investigations into evaporation systems to reduce contaminated water in the pit.