Name of the Mine
CSA mine.

Location  
Cobar, New South Wales, Australia.

Mine Owner/s  
Metal Acquisition Limited (MAC).

Brief Description  
CSA is the abbreviation for Cornish, Scottish and Australia, after the nationalities of its first owners. CSA is one of Australia’s deepest, highest-grade copper mines. 

Copper production at the mine is currently mine-constrained. Considerable effort in recent years, and many of the current capital expenditure programmes under way, are primarily aimed at maximising ore production as the mine gets deeper. 

Exploration in the top 850 m of the deposit is just starting and initial results highlight strong potential to open additional mining fronts.

Brief History  
Mineralisation at the CSA mine was first discovered in 1871. Development started in the early 1900s, focusing on near surface mineralisation. In 1965, Broken Hill South developed a new mechanised underground mining and processing operation, with new shafts, winders, a concentrator and infrastructure. Subsequently, the mine has operated under several different owners until Glencore acquired the property in 1999.

MAC acquired the mine from Glencore in June 2023.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Copper.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
Silver.

Geology/Mineralisation  
CSA is located within the Cobar mineral field in the Cobar basin, a north–south mineralised belt containing copper, gold and lead-zinc mineralisation, with four mines operating within 80 km of Cobar. Mineralisation is associated with north–south faulting and north-west, cross-cutting structures.

The mine comprises a series of mineralised lenses that extend from surface to a depth of over 2.3 km. The main deposits are QTS North (QTSN), QTS Central (QTSC) and QTS South (QTSS), as well as the Eastern and Western lenses, with additional mineralisation in the near surface QTSS Upper A zone. 

Lenses are typically between 5 m and 30 m wide, with relatively short strike lengths (less than 300 m), but significant down plunge extent of up to 1 000 m. 

Not all the systems extend to surface. QTSN, which accounts for the bulk of current production, is developed from a 600 m depth, while QTSC is developed from a depth of about 1 200 m. 

The dominant copper sulphide is chalcopyrite; silver is also present as acanthite. The CSA copper mine is believed to have exploration potential in the immediate vicinity of the mine and within the broader tenement package. 

The QTSN and QTSC lodes remain open down dip, with the deepest drill intersection currently at an estimated 2 200 m. 

Magnetic and electromagnetic surveys have identified several targets along strike of the known CSA copper mine lodes within the mining lease and the surrounding exploration licences.

Reserves  
Total mineral reserves as at August 31, 2023, were estimated at 14.9-million tons grading 3.3% copper and 13 g/t silver.

Resources  
Total mineral resources as at August 31, 2023, were estimated at 8-million tons grading 5.2% copper and 18 g/t silver.

Type of Mine
Underground.

Mining Method  
Mechanised longhole open stoping with cemented paste fill.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
The underground mine is serviced by two hoisting shafts and a decline from surface to the base of the mine.

The mine includes two semiautogenous grinding mills with a combined throughput of 1.5-million tonnes a year.

Sealed highways and public roads provide all-weather access to the CSA mine, which is also linked by rail to the ports of Newcastle and Port Kembla, in New South Wales, from which the copper concentrate product is exported.

Prospects  
MAC holds 566 km² of tenements with the potential to expand and extend CSA’s mine life.

Contact Details 
Metal Acquisition Limited
Email info@metalsacqcorp.com

Sources
Metal Acquisition Limited. Website: https://maccopperlimited.com/