PROCESSING

Aurelia upgrades Peak plant

Aurelia Metals’ investment in the Peak processing plant in Cobar, New South Wales, Australia is paying off, with high grade lead-zinc ore from its Chronos deposit going through the fully commissioned and upgraded circuit

Aurelia Metals' Peak process plant has been upgraded

Aurelia Metals' Peak process plant has been upgraded

With commissioning concluding on the A$53 million (US$32.6 million) upgraded ore processing circuit at Peak both on time and in-line with guidance, the plant has capacity to produce gold doré and separate copper, lead and zinc concentrates at a rate of 800,000t/y of high-grade gold and/or base metal feed.

New plant components were installed in the first week of February and the circuit was commissioned with separate batches of copper and lead-zinc ores the following month.

Over a continuous seven-day period, the new circuit and equipment performed at design levels and the nameplate rate was achieved.

Minor punch list activities and final documentation will be finished off before workers demobilise in April.

While Aurelia gets 65% of its money from gold, the plant upgrade means it can maximise by-product revenue by selling other high-grade copper, lead and zinc ores it makes.

Lead-zinc ores from the Chronos deposit are being processed, with Aurelia planning to process high-grade gold-lead-zinc ore from the newly discovered Kairos zone.

Dan Clifford, CEO and managing director of Aurelia Metals, said while the company's focus was gold, the Peak plant upgrade delivers greater flexibility and increased levels of throughput at a reduced cost.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalog of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.