Resource Copper (Cu), Gold (Au), Silver (Ag)
CompanyHillgrove Resources Limited
StatusOperating - underground
Mining operation
  • Hillgrove commenced open pit mining in December 2010 and ceased in May 2019
  • Copper-gold ore (which also contains silver and garnet) is mined and processed at a rate of approximately 350 tonnes per hour (tph) using a conventional crushing, grinding and flotation circuit to produce about 80,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of copper-gold concentrate (with silver credits).
  • The concentrate is transported by road to the Port of Adelaide for shipment to an overseas smelter
  • Tailings are placed in an integrated waste (tailings and waste rock) landform located adjacent to the pit
  • Program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR) incorporating proposed underground operations was approved by DEM on 20 December 2019
Location Approximately 44 km southeast of Adelaide within the Mountkanmantoo_blue Barker District Council area
Tenement information
  • Mine footprint and associated infrastructure located within a 438 ha area, covered by ML 6345 (436 ha) and ML 6436 (2.1 ha)
  • The Kanmantoo Copper Project also contains extractive mineral lease EML 6340

Download map showing Kanmantoo tenements via the South Australian Resources Information Gateway (SARIG)

The deposit

The orebody contains three main mineralised zones, each containing oxide, transition and primary sulfide or component:

  1. Main - pit will be 1100 m long and 770 m wide at the surface
  2. O'Neil/Nugent
  3. Emily Star - pit will be approximately 350 m long and 350 m wide

Approximately 18.6 Mt of ore will be mined from the pits, with average grades of 0.8% copper, 0.1 g/t gold and 2.0 g/t silver.

Resource estimates and production statistics

Summarised in South Australia's major operating/approved mines: resources estimates and production statistics (PDF, updated regularly)

Approval process

A lease was granted to Hillgrove Resources on 8 July 2014.

In July 2014, the State Government of South Australia approved the revised PEPR for the Kanmantoo Copper Mine, allowing for the extension to the operations.

Mining lease proposal 2007

Response to submissions 2008

The PEPR approval represented the final part of the approval process, which along with the State Government’s Mining Lease approval and Commonwealth EPBC approval, allowed the development of the extension.

These approvals provided the Kanmantoo copper mine with approval to mine and process ore reserves additional to those associated with an increase in processed ore over the previous approval.

The key changes associated with the life of mine extension included:

  • an additional mining lease (ML 6436) for the purpose of accessing ore at depth through extension of the open pit shells
  • an on ground footprint increase from 179.1 ha to 296.8 ha (increase of 117.7 ha), including extensions of the open pit shells and waste landforms including rock dumps and the TSF
  • integrated waste landform height increases up to 27 m (also increasing the integrated TSF volume), through additional lifts and rehabilitation covers
  • additional vegetation clearance and SEB offsets captured and approved under Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) and SA Native Vegetation legislation
Documents and reports

Program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR)

Kanmantoo Copper - Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) August 2020

Kanmantoo Copper Mining Project Mining compliance reports 2017 - 2018

Community engagement

The Kanmantoo-Callington Community Consultative Committee (KCCCC) was formed in 2007 to ensure effective and ongoing communication and consultation process with the local community.

Development Act

Other regulatory approvals

  • On 16 April 2019 Hillgrove announced the sale of rights to develop a Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) project at the Kanmantoo Mine site to AGL.
  • Subject to relevant government assessment/approvals processes, if a decision is made to progress the PHES project it would utilise parts of the existing mine site including the open pit.