Broken Hill Mines Ltd. has delivered the first silver-lead-zinc ore for processing from the newly restarted Edwards Open Pit at the Pinnacles Mine in New South Wales.
The achievement marks the return of mining operations at the site for the first time since 2021, when activities abruptly ground to a halt during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delivered well ahead of the initial target schedule, the first ore has been crushed and hauled approximately 15 kilometres to the company’s 100 per cent owned Rasp Processing Plant.
The restart serves as a major de-risking milestone for the company’s regional operations. Historically, previous owners of the 750,000 tonnes-per-annum (tpa) Rasp plant lacked access to external ore source optionality, resulting in the fixed infrastructure being heavily underutilised.
The integration of Pinnacles ore introduces a third high-grade bulk feed source to the facility, supplementing the existing Main Lode and the long-term Western Min ore supplies. It represents the second new feed source BHM has successfully brought online in the past 12 months.
Initial mining at the site focuses on expanding the historic Edwards Open Pit, which remains open both laterally and at depth.
Utilising the pre-existing pit architecture allows BHM to minimise the strip ratio usually required for initial production, granting rapid access to roughly 50,000 tonnes of high-grade ore sitting exposed on the pit floor.
BHM Executive Chair Patrick Walta said: “This first ore milestone from Pinnacles is a tangible demonstration of BHM’s strategy to unlock value from nearby ore sources and leverage the operational capacity at Rasp.
“We look forward to building on this significant achievement via ramp-up of open pit operations and targeted future development of the Pinnacles underground.”
Pinnacles Mine Managing Director Craig Williams echoed the sentiment, celebrating the successful joint venture partnership with BHM.
“BHM have delivered a rapid evolution of this great mine since 2024, and it is a credit to their team for achieving this first ore milestone well ahead of initial target schedule,” Williams said.
Looking ahead, BHM is also advancing assessments for high-grade underground mining at Pinnacles and exploring the development of the Centenary orebody at Rasp to secure further throughput growth.