Doug Hood Mining

Macraes Goldmine, Otago, South Island

December 31, 1995

Between 1991 and 1995 DHML was contracted to provide opencast mining services at Macraes Goldmine, for Macraes Mining (now Oceana Gold)

This was a 5 year contract to strip and mine gold ore at Macraes Flat near Dunedin. On completion in 1995 some 15.0M m3 had been moved from the various mining areas.

This contract utilised a fleet of 4 x 150 tonne & 9 x 85 tonne capacity dump trucks, 2 x 100 tonne & 1 x 180 tonne excavators.

Waste disposal involved the construction of two large earth dams, one with a crest height of 120m.

The ore body was a low grade deposit requiring stringent grade control procedures to minimise dilution and ore losses.

Specialised in-house blasting techniques were used to minimise heave and ore zone dilution.

Improved mining methods and operator skills contributed to the success of in-pit ore recovery .

The client’s requirements in terms of production, quality and environmental standards were all fully achieved.

The final value of this contract was $50M.

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