Telfer Australia, WA

Location
Telfer, WA

Nearest Town
Telfer, Western Australia

Client
Newmont Corporation

Commodity
Gold

Contract Type
Full Alliance

Contract Duration
September 2005 to Evergreen (LOM)

Scope
Decline, level development, rehabilitation, sublevel cave and longhole stope production

Byrnecut have been at Telfer since late 2005. The mine has been operated as both an open pit and underground mine since 1977.

The Telfer contract is one of Byrnecut’s largest operations, expanded with the addition of the Western Flanks orebodies.

Byrnecut undertake all underground mining activity on the site; from large scale sub-level caving operations to smaller narrow vein high grade reef stopes. The mine has made extensive use in the past of autonomously operated loaders tipping into ore- passes, with chute loaded trucks hauling material on a consolidated haulage level to the main crushing station. Ore is then hauled to surface by shaft. As the mine progresses deeper, below the crushing station, the mine is transitioning to conventional loader to truck haulage operations. Telfer is one of Byrnecut's proving grounds for new technology, with automated jumbos and remote long hole drills successfully trialled and commissioned.

Byrnecut also completed, under a separate contract, the 1,100m 7.5m diameter concrete lined haulage shaft.

The Telfer mine, in the remote north of Western Australia, is accessed by sealed and unsealed roads, and air transport. Byrnecut operate the mine on a fly-in, fly-out basis from Perth, and currently employ over 300 people on the project.