The Snapper Mine Project is an expansion of Bemax’s mineral sands operation in the Murray Basin of New South Wales (NSW).
Bemax, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is developing this greenfield site 10 km from their existing operation. Bemax requested Ausenco carry out the EPCM required to take this project into the production phase by the end of 2010.
The facility has been developed for the Snapper deposit located approximately 70 km north of Wentworth and 40 km west of Pooncarie, NSW.
Bemax have several substantial deposits in the area near Pooncarie. Of these deposits, Ausenco successfully executed the Stage 1 Gingko mine site and the Broken Hill processing plant.
For the Snapper project, Ausenco provided EPCM services to develop the plant and associated infrastructure, which resulted in a combined annual processing rate of 650 000 t/y of HMC between the Gingko and Snapper mines.
The new Snapper project is a greenfield site, conceptually similar to the existing Gingko plant however, Snapper is a purpose designed and built new plant.
The plant consists of but is not limited to the following:
- Dredge
- Floating concentrator plant (wet plant)
- Stacker
- Booster pumps
- Water bores and overland piping
- 10 km 22kV H.V. supply overhead transmission line and associated sub-stations
- Access/haulage roads
- Construction camp