Thalanga mine remediation project
In 1975, copper, lead, and zinc resources were discovered at Thalanga, leading to production commencement in 1989. The site was disclaimed by liquidators in December 2022 after a fall of ground in the Far West underground and other various operational and compliance issues. We are actively managing Thalanga as an abandoned mine site under the Abandoned Mine Lands Program.
Thalanga is an open-cut and underground mine with an onsite processing plant and mine industrial area, a large exploration core yard, a large tailings storage facility, several evaporation and process water dams and a wetland.
We are consulting with the representatives of the overlapping Native Title applicants for the site, the Jangga #2 People, and the Gudjala People, regarding management activities on site.
- View a glossary of mining terms used on this page.
Project snapshot
Region: North Queensland
Location: 65km west-south-west of Charters Towers, Latitude 20.34 S, Longitude 145.77 E, Program site is approximately 500Ha
Commodity: Copper, Lead, Zinc
Mining type: Open cut and underground (stoping and sublevel caving)
Date of abandonment: December 2022
Status: Remediation ongoing with development of long-term management options
Native title interest: Overlapping applications by Jangga #2 people and Gudjala People
Public land registers: Listed on the Environmental Management Register
Photo gallery
Key risks
Health and safety risks associated with:
- potential instability of the mining pit walls and dump features
- potential instability of the underground workings
- hazardous wastes and hydrocarbon stockpiles that remain on site
- potential for collapse and fall from heights of aging infrastructure
- high voltage electricity
- processing plant.
Environmental risks associated with:
- poor-quality water as a result of acid metalliferous drainage with potential impacts on surface and ground water
- tailings storage facility
- potential for contaminated sediment.
Completed works
- Care and maintenance operations, including water management, site security and general clean-up.
- Increased focus on evaporation of contaminated water
- Earthworks to repair integrity of tailings storage facility and waste dumps
- Make-safe works for underground access points
- Hazardous waste and dangerous goods removal
Planned works
- Continuation treatment of contaminated water
- Development of site water balance model and management plan
- Earthworks to improve contaminated water retention during wet weather events
- Isolation and decommissioning of obsolete and hazardous electrical infrastructure
- Closure planning for tailings storage facility and mine pit and dumps
- Clean-up of outlying infrastructure areas and remediation and revegetation works
- Portal closure with designs that support wildlife movement
- Ongoing stakeholder management