The synergy between Ernest Henry Operations, which has operated the large scale copper-gold operation north of Cloncurry for 25 years, and the north western community has been celebrated at a special open day.
The milestone of a quarter of a century saw the community turn out in force at the Cloncurry community precinct and two on-site surface tours.
According to EHO general manager Aaron 'Harry' Harrison, it was a great opportunity to do something special for the community that has supported Ernest Henry for the last 25 years.
"I have lived and worked in Cloncurry for the last eleven years and it was important for us to share our success with the local community in which we have operated in," he said.
"As we reflect and celebrate the history of our operations we are also excited for the future.
"We want to continue successfully operating and supporting our community long into the future."
In the 25 years that the mine has been in operation it has milled 221,641,724 dry metric tonnes and produced 7,302,088 dry metric tonnes of concentrate.
That's made up of 2,099,493 copper metal tonnes, and 2,607,711 gold troy ounces.
The mine's total underground lateral development is 104.4 kilometres and its total underground vertical development is 7.6km.
Open Day attendees were treated to a range of interactive information displays, presentations, memorabilia, games and to test their skills with a remote loader training simulator supplied by Sandvik.
Participants who registered for the tours saw a welcome to country with Mitakoodi elder, Ron 'Hombre' Major, who played the didgeridoo and sang about his people's connection to the land in Cloncurry.
That was followed by inductions and morning and afternoon barbecues prepared by the Cloncurry Lions Club before each tour commenced.
The tour route consisted of a 30 minute drive out to site then passing through the administration buildings, concentrator, laboratory, mobile workshop, and out to the hard stand that overlooks the open pit.
Following talks with safety advisors, tour groups returned via the EHO Village, which the workforce calls home while on shift.
Afternoon tour guide and concentrator manager Shane Morrisey said he was impressed with the participation from the local community.
"The tours were popular and allowed us to showcase how our operations work and the processes we go through to achieve the end product," he said. "I hope we have sparked the interests of some of the twelve junior miners that were on the tour to consider a career with us in the future."
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Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
