Northparkes is a

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

mine in central

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, approximately 27 kilometres north-northwest of the town of Parkes. The mine was originally started in 1994 using

open pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of minin ...

, with underground mining using the block caving method starting in 1997. The mine has an operational capacity to process six million

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s of ore per year, containing roughly 60,000 tonnes of copper and 50,000 ounces of gold. Economic viability of the mine is projected to extend at least to the year 2032. The mine is 80% owned by the China Molybdenum Group (CMOC), with the remaining 20% owned by the

Sumitomo Group The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period. History The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Ma ...

. The mine was previously 80% owned by

North Limited North Limited was a diversified mining and resources company. Although based in Australia, its operations eventually extended to six continents. By the late 20th century the company had become the fourth largest iron ore exporter in the world wi ...

, with a takeover by

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

in 2000, before selling its stake in 2013.

Technology

Northparkes was one of the first mine sites to have automated loaders, and also the first block-cave mine in Australia.

External links

Northparkes web siteWSJ

References

{{reflist Mines in New South Wales Former Rio Tinto (corporation) subsidiaries Parkes Shire