Mount Lyell mine operator Copper Mines of Tasmania, and its general manager Scot Clyde, are facing more charges over a string of deaths at the site. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. The State Government has invested heavily in the mine in a bid to restart production. "West Lyell open cut" which had been dominant in the 1950s was finished, and various parts of the lease were disappearing into the opening above the "Prince Lyell" workings. Mount Lyell is an underground mine and mill operation operated by Vedanta's Copper Mines of Tasmania (CMT) division, located in western Tasmania, Australia. Media release â Guy Barnett, Minister for Resources, 14 September 2020 Mt Lyell copper mine The Tasmanian Government is aware that Vedanta Limited has commenced a process to divest its ownership interest in Copper Mines of Tasmania, which owns and operates the Mt Lyell copper mine. There was a small operation in the early days of the mining operation that was on the northern side of Mount Lyell, known as the Comstock mine. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in Queenstown, Tasmania. As a consequence it is part of the Vedanta group of companies. ABC: Selina Bryan An inquest into the deaths of three workers at Mt Lyell copper mine in Tasmania has heard its seismic activity was within a normal range. In Catalogue of the minerals of Tasmania. At various stages it also shared costs and resources with other companies which would assist by investing in exploration by becoming partners in some leases. Contaminated sediments in the King River and Macquarie Harbour contribute relatively little of the total pollutant load entering the harbour. Mr Vickers said the funding was spent on improving underground infrastructure. This page was last edited on 7 December 2020, at 15:25. Mount Lyell, mining area, western Tasmania, Australia. Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell. The company has been significant in Australian business history works as Geoffrey Blainey, the Australian historian, began his career with the writing of the company history The Peaks of Lyell, which has now progressed to its sixth edition. Downstream, chemical modelling and toxicological testing indicates that 95% to 99% of the acid drainage from the site must be neutralised or stemmed for the resultant water quality to meet downstream environmental quality objectives. The Mt Lyell copper deposits are located adjacent to the town of Queenstown, 25 km east of the west coast of Tasmania, Australia, ~175 km NW of Hobart and ~120 km south of Burnie. Wow! Government guidelines saw tailings dams created and special measures taken to prevent any further pollution of the rivers and harbour. tailings, slag and acid drainage into rivers and a delta of tailings the size of a city suburb in Macquarie Harbour; all aquatic life in the Queen River and lower King River has been killed; waterways contaminated with toxic metals, particularly copper, representing a potential hazard to the fishing industry and other harbour uses; vegetation on Queenstown hills destroyed by felling, fire, erosion and toxic fumes from smelting. Craig Gleeson, 45, and Alistair Lucas, 25, fell to their deaths in the Mt Lyell Copper Mine when the wooden platform they were working on collapsed on December 9, 2013. The Mount Lyell mine was founded in 1883 and is Australia's oldest continually operating mine. Mount Lyell Acid Mine Drainage Remediation River water contaminated with Copper. Lyell copper mine in Tasmania, Australia, which provides a small percentage of the copper concentrate requirements of the Tuticorin smelter. "Weâre so so quiet and down in the dumps at the moment. We need to lift our game again," she said. Discharge from other tunnels and waste rock dumps accounts for 21%. The Mount Lyell mining operations produced more than a million tonnes of copper, 750 tonnes of silver and 45 tonnes of gold since mining commenced in the early 1890s - which is equivalent to over 4 billion dollars worth of metal in 1995 terms.[1]. The Mt. Vedanta Limited owns 100.0% of CMT. At that stage it was known as the Copper Division of Renison Goldfields Consolidated Limited. In the early stage of operations, Mount Lyell was surrounded by smaller competing leases and companies. The Mt Lyell Mine at Queenstown, Tasmania was re-opened in 1995 by Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mt Lyell Mining Co Ltd. North Lyell mine, Mount Lyell Mines, Queenstown district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia : An abandoned mine in this still-operating field. Twelve months later it was taken over by Gold Mines of Australia, but low copper prices made the operation unviable, and it was sold to an Indian company, Twin Star Holdings. The remaining 1% is from smaller sources. "Economically it's been very challenging for the community," Mr Walpole said. Following consolidation of leases and company assets at the beginning of the twentieth century, Mount Lyell was the major company for the communities of Queenstown, Strahan and Gormanston. This Mine is situated on the northern descent of the " Lyell West Peak ; " i.e. The Mount Lyell mine disaster of 1912 was a great personal tragedy, however, the aftermath also proved a great travesty of justice, writes T.R. Mount Lyell was also the operator of the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge[11] Queenstown to Regatta Point railway from 1893 to 1963, which used the Abt rack system of cog railway for steep sections. This company in turn was acquired by Sterlite Industries, an Indian-based company, in 1999. This is how it will affect our summers. The Mount Lyell Mine is located within the town boundary of Queenstown that has a population of around 2,000 people. Queenstown's historic Mount Lyell copper mine is up for sale, with potential for a long-awaited restart under new ownership. Dept. The following locations were within the operating mine lease and indicate a separate orebody - the operating life is also indicated: - Queenstown is linked by sealed roads to the state capital of Hobart, as well as to Burnie and Launceston. Within the lease site, the North Lyell Tunnel has water derived in part from underground workings and has approximately 78% of the lease site copper loading. It remained dominant until its closure in 1994. The Mount Lyell Remediation and Research and Demonstration Program was conducted between 1994 and 1996 following the closing of the company, to reverse the ecological change upon the Queen and King Rivers, and Macquarie Harbour; caused by the release of mine waste and effluent into the rivers. Pharmacist Chris Walpole has lived in the Queenstown area, on Tasmania's west coast, for 13 years. ... We were looking for something a little different to do in Queenstown when we came across the Mt Lyell Underground Mine Tour. Since the mine went into care and maintenance in [â¦] It is the co-type location for mawsonite. of Mines & Petterd, W. F. (William Frederick). CMT's Acting General Manager Clint Mayes said the company had been preparing to recommence operations at Mt Lyell in February, but this restart was put on hold due to the COVID-19 crisis, which affected Vedantaâs ability to proceed. In addition, the company also owns the Mt. "Having a new operator in a community like ours is a good thing and we would look forward to working with the new operator and bringing lots of opportunity and economic development and employment to the region, which is something weâve been looking for for a long time," Mr Walpole said. They also contain some rare minerals such as mawsonite, betekhtinite, florencite, woodhouseite, hessite, jalpaite, magnesiofoitite, zunyite, and stromeyerite. The Mount Lyell Mining Field, and the various activities of the company in Queenstown and the west coast of Tasmania were celebrated throughout the community. Lyell mine is owned and operated by Copper Mines of Tasmania Pty Limited (CMT). Lyell Mine, our staff are following government guidelines to protect ourselves and others and are monitoring the situation closely. following the deaths of three miners in two separate incidents. Reviewed 18 September 2016 . (#Location: 42° 3' 51"S, 145° 35' 2"E). The nearest city being Burnie, 160 kilometres to its ⦠Catalogue of mineral of Tasmania & Geological Survey of Tasmania (1970). Mr Walpole is one of many locals who have today welcomed the news that the mine, which was established in 1893, could soon be handed to a new owner. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), COVID-19 virus fragments in sewage plants a reminder to get tested, says NSW's top doctor, 'Consequences are significant' for woman who fled Perth coronavirus quarantine hotel, Australia's weather is shifting. Via an RFP process, Fenix Hydromet were selected to conduct testwork, design and cost a plant to treat the Acid Mine Drainage at Mount Lyell, part of the World Heritage area. "Vedantaâs work has placed the mine in a strong position for the new owner to quickly recommence operations, which will be a great outcome for the mine and for the west coast community," he said. The Prince Lyell orebody at Mount Lyell Mine has a rich mining history commencing with the open pit in 1935, which transitioned underground in 1972. The site, discovered in the 1880s, derives its name from a 2,900-ft (880-m) peak in the west coast range, which was named after Charles Lyell, the 19th-century English geologist. Out of 170 workers, only 73 men escaped on the first day. The Mount Lyell mine at Queenstown was the site of three fatal mining accidents. The Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, now a subsidiary of Renison Goldfields Ltd, suffered continuing problems and in 1993 work stopped at the mine. [2], The following locations were within the operating mine lease and indicate a separate orebody - the operating life is also indicated:[3] -. The re-opening followed over 100 years of copper and gold mining at Mt Lyell. As a consequence the Mount Lyell company had utilised considerable resources on maintaining leases over areas of promising geology - as well as checking older mining locations on the west coast. The Mercury Newspaper's front pages from the biggest stories of the decade between 2010-2019. The tragedy unfolded around 11.15am on 12 October 1912 when a fire was reported in the pump house of the 700 foot level. What a tour! In 1903 the North Mount Lyell company was taken over, and in 1912 the most severe calamity to visit the Mount Lyell company was the 1912 North Mount Lyell Disaster, also known at the time as the North Lyell fire. [12], Smelting ended in the 1960s and CMT has built a dam to contain tailings.[13]. "The best result for our community â and for a restart of that mine â is for it to be sold on for somebody that's prepared to reopen it.". Review of RoamWild Tasmania. "So it's on the market â that was a good news story for me. Was 2020 the year Australians learned to trust politicians? "Vedanta also wants to place on record its appreciation of the strong support the Tasmanian Government has provided to keep the mine ready for a restart.". Hobart - identifies the separate Tharsis workings - West Tharsis, Tharsis, Mount Lyell Remediation and Research and Demonstration Program, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-09/queenstown-residents-reeling-after-mount-lyell-mine-closure/5585754, "SSR126 - Final report: Mount Lyell Remediation Research and Demonstration Program", http://www.environment.gov.au/ssd/publications/ssr/126.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Lyell_Mining_and_Railway_Company&oldid=992870867, Australian companies disestablished in 1994, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The guides were extremely knowledgeable about the area and industry. Major changes in practice were implemented across the site. Prospects of Mt Lyell mine restart unaffected by Indian smelter shutdown: operator, Tasmanian miners hold out hope for brighter future amid tech industry growth, 'It's up in your news feed': Miner's family learns of inquest news via social media, Mt Lyell mine safety in spotlight at inquest into worker deaths, Take a look back at a year that rocked markets and the global economy, Hand sanitiser can be better than soap during the coronavirus pandemic, What we know so far about Sydney's mystery Belrose Hotel cases, It 's been a remarkably good and remarkably bad year for Australian women, Beneath the UAE's glittering facade lies a dark reality. Craig Gleeson, 45, and Alistair Lucas, 25, fell to their deaths in the Mt Lyell Copper Mine in Queenstown when the wooden platform they were working on collapsed in December 2013. He was there when the nearby Mt Lyell copper mine went into care and maintenance in 2014 following the deaths of three miners in two separate incidents. For more than a century, copper and gold have been mined in the Mt Lyell area. Previous operators of the Mt Lyell mine discharged smelter slag and mill tailings into the river system until smelting stopped in 1970, and discharge of tailings to the river ceased in 1994. The state's Minerals and Energy Council said the sale of the operation would be "a positive thing" if any new owner went in with the aim of restarting mining. Key challenges are the large volumes caused by rainfall events and the low tenors. Mackay. On 29 March 1993 the company celebrated its centenary. Mt Lyell tour must do. Vedanta Resources said in a statement that global investment bank Macquarie Capital had been appointed to manage the sale process, and secure a new owner to take Mt Lyell forward. "So it's not been wasted â whoever buys that site will get the benefit of that State Government cash injection, and any other cash injections it's had recently," he said. The Mt Lyell copper-gold mines produce some excellent crystallised specimens of chalcopyrite, quartz, haematite, dolomite-ankerite and other minerals, particularly in late stage veins. "It may bring some locals back home," Ms Gumley said. [14], The Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Limited (1994), Tasmania. "I've had a briefing from the GM [General Manager] up there, only a week or so ago, and his indication is that the parent company is considering, or are in the process, of divesting themselves of that mine site," he said. As ⦠The deposits are hosted by the Central Volcanic Complex of the 250 km long, middle to late Cambrian Mt Read Volcanic Arc on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The operations were conducted in various parts of the Mount Lyell Lease, and in the mid 1970s, prior to reduction in the workforce, "Cape Horn" was located just west of the "Comstock" operation which was on the north side of Mount Lyell, while most of the North Mount Lyell workings were finished, "12 West" was still in operation due to its rich copper ores. Copper Mines of Tasmania (CMT) has confirmed its Indian parent company Vedanta Resources wants to sell the mothballed Mt Lyell operation at Queenstown. It mostly extracted rich bornite ores, and contained some unusual minerals. The mine suspended operations in January 2014 and currently remains on care and maintenance. It is estimated that 100 million tonnes of tailings were disposed of into the Queen River. The ancient history of the Mount Lyell Mine is now written. We at CMT share our community's deep concerns over the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Local newsagent Barbara Gumley said the mine's prospective sale might help revive the town. The Mount Lyell lease and mine was reopened by Copper Mines of Tasmania in 1995. Mount Lyell, western Tasmania, a 100 year old copper mining operation in which large quantities of sulphide rich ore rock have been both exposed to weathering and discharged as tailings into the Queen and King Rivers, is the subject of a research program evaluating environmental impacts of resulting acid mine drainage (AMD) and remediation options. The Mt Lyell company built this 1912â1914 Hydropower scheme and village where for decades families lived and thrived. The state government is being urged to end financial support for restarting the Mount Lyell Mine because of its international ownerâs environmental record. Pollution of the Queen and King Rivers, and Macquarie Harbour was caused by the release of mine waste and effluent into the rivers. The 1912 North Mount Lyell disaster (also known at the time as the Mount Lyell disaster and North Mount Lyell fire) refers to a fire that broke out on 12 October 1912 at the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company operations on the West Coast of Tasmania.The mine had been taken over from the North Mount Lyell Company in 1903. This railway was rebuilt and recommenced operation in 2002 as the Abt Wilderness Railway, and is now known as the West Coast Wilderness Railway and was operated by Federal Hotels until 2013. Enjoy a cuppa with some cake in the village hall while perusing the professionally installed interpretations and enjoy the presentation. That company was not a success, which was clearly not the fault of the mine. While business as usual continues at the Mt. Eventually they were all absorbed into Mount Lyell operations, or were closed down. 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