Surveyor-Balcooma abandoned mine project
The Surveyor and Balcooma mine sites are located approximately 1.5km apart on Conjuboy Station. The Surveyor open pit mine was developed by Kagara Zinc Ltd in 2002 and was followed by the Balcooma open pit in 2004. Underground development followed for both pits and continued until Kagara entered administration in 2012. The mines were purchased by Snow Peak Ltd and mining continued sporadically until the most recent operator, Aurora Metals Limited, put the site into care and maintenance in 2021. Aurora Metals was subsequently liquidated and associated mining leases (including Mount Garnet leases) were disclaimed in March 2024.
We are actively managing the sites under the Abandoned Mine Lands Program.
Surveyor-Balcooma are polymetallic open-cut and underground mines with a mine industrial area, remnant infrastructure, waste rock stockpiles, water dams and an open cut pit.
We are consulting with landholders and Native Title interest holders about management activities on site.
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Project snapshot
Region: North Queensland
Location: 220km north-west of Townsville, Latitude -18.7746, Longitude 144.70237. Program site is approximately 1200Ha, with a smaller disturbance footprint
Commodity: Copper, Silver, Zinc, Lead
Mining type: Open cut and underground
Date of abandonment: March 2024
Status: Investigation and development of long-term management options
Native title interest: Gugu Badhun represented by Gugu Badhun Aboriginal Corporation
Public land register: Listed on the Environmental Management Register
Key risks
Health and safety risks associated with:
- waste rock dumps and stockpiles
- high walls, unstable ground, open pits and subsidence areas
- potential for collapse and fall from heights of aging infrastructure
- high-voltage electricity
Environmental risks associated with:
- contaminated water storages, including open cut pit
- potential for contaminated sediment and water runoff
Planned works
- Investigation into long-term management options including development of site water balance model and management plan.
- Removal and safe disposal of hazardous wastes and hydrocarbons.
- Isolation and decommissioning of obsolete and hazardous electrical infrastructure.
- Clean-up of outlying infrastructure areas and remediation and revegetation works.
- Ongoing stakeholder management.