Abra Achieves First Concentrate Shipment


The Rotabox system at work with the lifting and transfer of concentrate to the ship hold.
Once inside the ship hold, the lifting mechanism rotates the container to place the
concentrate in the hold. (Photo: March 24, 2023).
Galena Mining Ltd. announced the first concentrate shipment of 5,019 dry metric tons (dmt) left the port of Geraldton on Saturday, March 25, 2023. “The first Abra concentrate shipment is a very important milestone for the project, and it is one that is very rewarding for all those who have been involved with the successful build and transition of the mine into production,” Galena Mining Managing Director Tony James said. “I’d like to acknowledge the very professional approach taken by the MidWest Ports Authority and Qube who provide our integrated logistics services for our concentrate handling. This first concentrate shipment coincides with the first stope production on site, which is also a significant part of the mine ramp-up over the coming months to reach steady state production of 1.3 million mt/y.”

Located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, the Abra base metals mine is accessing a world class deposit that can easily be concentrated into a clean, high-grade concentrate containing extremely low amounts of deleterious elements, according to Galena Mining. The lead-silver resource lies 230 m below the surface and exploration drilling has identified the potential of copper-gold mineralization sitting directly below the currently defined lead-silver mineralization.

During early January, the company completed plant construction and started ore commissioning with first ore fed into the plant. First concentrate was produced later that month. Underground development continues to advance. During December several ore drives began on the 1285 and 1300 levels, which delivered the required ore for plant commissioning in January.

As featured in Womp 2023 Vol 04 - www.womp-int.com