-- Glencore Xstrata aims to have expanded McArthur River mine in
production next year
-- Mine expansion to double site's annual capacity
(Adds comments from Glencore Xstrata; details throughout.)
By Rhiannon Hoyle
SYDNEY--Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLEN.LN) passed the final hurdle
for a major expansion of its McArthur River zinc-and-lead mine in
northern Australia, securing local government approval for a US$360
million development that will more than double the operation's
processing capacity.
The expansion of the mine--home to the largest zinc deposit in
the world, according to Glencore Xstrata--can now move ahead this
year, said a spokeswoman for the miner, adding that the company
expects to reach its annual capacity target of 5.5 million metric
tons of ore in 2014. The mine currently has a total capacity of 2.5
million tons a year.
Xstrata--as it was known prior to its merger with Glencore
earlier this year--purchased the McArthur River mine in 2003 as
part of its acquisition of Mount Isa Mines. The project underscores
the merged entity's willingness to commit to some of Xstrata's
existing investment plans less than a month after the resources
giant said it would abandon plans for a new coal shipping facility
in the state of Queensland.
Still, in an interview last month, chief executive Ivan
Glasenberg said he had visited all major Xstrata operations,
discovered a duplication of key tasks and expects to fire a "big
amount" of Xstrata middle managers.
In an emailed statement, the minister for mines and energy for
Australia's Northern Territory government, Willem Westra van
Holthe, said he had approved the plan which would extend the
McArthur River mine's life by nine years, to 2036. The mine is
located 900 kilometers southeast of Darwin, in the Gulf Region.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
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