| Murrin Murrin | |||||||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Label: | Murrin Murrin | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | -28.7675°N 121.8939°W | ||||||||||
| Place: | Leonora | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type: | State | ||||||||||
| State/Province: | Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Country: | Australia | ||||||||||
| Owner: | Glencore | ||||||||||
| Official Website: | Glencore website | ||||||||||
| Acquisition Year: | 2011 | ||||||||||
| Products: | Nickel, cobalt | ||||||||||
| Financial Year: | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Amount: | Nickel: 31,100 t Cobalt: 2,100 t | ||||||||||
| Opening Year: | 1999 | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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The Murrin Murrin Mine is a major nickel-cobalt mining operation being conducted in the North Eastern Goldfields, approximately 45 km east of Leonora, Western Australia. The project was initiated as a joint venture between Murrin Murrin Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anaconda Nickel Limited (whose share was 60%) and Glenmurrin Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore International AG, which had a 40% share.[1] In 2003 Anaconda changed its name to Minara Resources Limited. In November 2011, Minara Resources was fully acquired and is now wholly owned by Glencore International.[2] The mine opened in 1999.[3]
Murrin Murrin mines a laterite nickel ore formed by deep weathering of a peridotite ultramafic rock.
Significant problems and delays were encountered in the design, construction and commissioning of the ore process plant at Murrin Murrin.[4]
The designers, Fluor Daniel eventually had to pay the joint venture partners A$155 million in an out-of-court settlement. It was their second successful claim against Fluor, Murrin Murrin owners having been awarded $147 million from the first phase of their claim against Fluor, a sum which ultimately was reduced to $39.8 million. The Murrin Murrin project's original cost estimate of $1 billion had $1.6 billion.[5]
Production of the mine:
| Year | Nickel | Cobalt | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 13,027 t | 904 t | |
| 2001 | 25,991 t | 1,253 t | |
| 2002 | 30,009 t | 1,838 t | |
| 2003[6] [7] [8] | 28,147 t | 2,309 t | |
| 2004[9] | 27,950 t | 1,982 t | |
| 2005 | 28,240 t | 1,750 t | |
| 2006 | 31,524 t | 2,096 t | |
| 2007 | 27,585 t | 1,884 t | |
| 2008 | 30,514 t | 2,018 t | |
| 2009[10] | 32,977 t | 3,250 t | |
| 2010[11] | 28,500 t | 1,900 t | |
| 2011 | 28,500 t | 1,900 t | |
| 2012[12] | 33,410 t | 2,390 t | |
| 2013[13] | 40,000 t | 2,700 t | |
| 2014 | 36,400 t | 2,700 t | |
| 2015[14] | 37,500 t | 2,800t | |
| 2016 | 35,300 t | 2,800 t | |
| 2017[15] | 34,700 t | 2,700 t | |
| 2018 | 35,500 t | 2,900 t | |
| 2019[16] | 37,000t | 3,400 t | |
| 2020 | 36,000 t | 2,900 t | |
| 2021 | 30,000 t | 2,500 t | |
| 2022[17] | 35,700 t | 3,000 t | |
| 2023[18] | 31,100 t | 2,100 t |