The Murrin Murrin Mine is a major nickel-cobalt mining operation being conducted in the North Eastern Goldfields, approximately 45 km east of

Leonora, Western Australia Leonora is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located northeast of the state capital, Perth, and north of the city of Kalgoorlie. History The first European explorer to visit the area was John Forrest in 1869. ...

. The project was initiated as a joint venture between Murrin Murrin Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anaconda Nickel Limited (whose share was 60%) and Glenmurrin Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of

Glencore International AG Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company was ...

, which had a 40% share. In 2003 Anaconda changed its name to Minara Resources Limited. In November 2011, Minara Resources was fully acquired and is now wholly owned by Glencore International. The mine opened in 1999.''The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003–2004 Edition'', page: 39

Geology

Murrin Murrin mines a laterite nickel ore formed by deep weathering of a

peridotite Peridotite ( ) is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium (Mg2+), reflecting the high prop ...

ultramafic rock Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...

Problems with the process plant

Significant problems and delays were encountered in the design, construction and commissioning of the ore process plant at Murrin Murrin. The designers,

Fluor Daniel Fluor Corporation is an American multinational engineering and construction firm headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in the following areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastr ...

eventually had to pay the joint venture partners A$155 million in an out-of-court settlement. It was their second successful claim against Fluor, Murrin Murrin owners having been awarded $147 million from the first phase of their claim against Fluor, a sum which ultimately was reduced to $39.8 million. The Murrin Murrin project's original cost estimate of $1 billion had $1.6 billion.Minara handed $155m for Murrin mine fiasco

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

, published: 6 May 2004, accessed: 10 September 2009

Production

Production of the mine:

References

External links

MINEDEX website: Murrin Murrin / Minara
Database of the

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety is a department of the Government of Western Australia. The department was formed on 1 July 2017, out of the former Department of Mines and Petroleum and Department of Commerce. A restr ...

Minara Resources website

Glencore website
{{Nickel mining in Western Australia Nickel mines in Western Australia Cobalt mines in Western Australia Cobalt mining companies Shire of Laverton Surface mines in Australia Glencore

Geology

Problems with the process plant

Production

See also

References

External links