Following flooding at the Ernest Henry mine in Queensland, owner Evolution Mining said it is on track to resume mining within the six-week window it committed to after the event on 8 March.

The miner confirmed that “significant” progress has been made in water removal from within the mine, and a successful restart of the main pump station on the 1325 level. Additionally, it has restarted the concentrator with processing of lower-grade stockpile material as well as toll treating of third-party material.

Remediation of the main area of water ingress has also been completed.

“The safe resumption of mine production at Ernest Henry remains the priority for Evolution,” company officials said, noting that it was able to evacuate all of its workers amid the March flooding.

“The team has made excellent progress in managing the many challenges caused by the extreme weather event and to be on track to resume mining activities within the original time frame is a credit to everyone involved.”

The full impact of the event on its fiscal year guidance will be relayed when it releases its March 2023 quarter earnings later this month. It will take into consideration the progress of the recovery at Ernest Henry.

Evolution acquired the mine, a copper-gold operation northeast of Cloncurry, wholly in January 2022.

Source: Evolution Mining