Unlisted miner, CBH Resources says it has received final NSW Government approval to develop the Rasp silver, zinc and lead project at Broken Hill in far western NSW.
CBH, which was taken over by Toho Zinc of Japan in the middle of last year, says the project will cost around $150 million for the first two years.
CBH says it will start site construction next month, with underground mine development likely to begin in April.
The project will exploit the orebodies at Broken Hill that the other, older mines ignored.
It would take around 18 months to complete the mine, which is expected to be commissioned in mid-2012 with a mine life of 16 years.
CBH expects Rasp to generate annual revenue of $125 million and employ 160 staff once operational.
"The decision of the NSW government to approve development of Rasp is an important milestone for CBH and will deliver significant business and employment opportunities in Broken Hill," managing director Stephen Dennis said in a statement.
The Rasp Mine at Broken Hill NSW had approvals for an underground mine to produce 120,000 tonnes per year for two years, but CBH pushed to expand this to an underground mine and processing facility with capacity of up to 750,000 per year.
It believes that at this level of production, from 2013 and 2026, contained annual metal production at Rasp is planned to average 39,000 tonnes of lead, 48,000 tonnes of zinc and 2.3 million ounces of silver.
The company’s environmental plan says the Rasp Mine is located centrally within the City of Broken Hill and the mining leases occupy the central region of the historic Broken Hill Line of Lode orebody and incorporate the original mine areas that commenced operations in the 1880s and still contains substantial tonnages of un-mined zinc-lead-silver mineralisation.
The proposal comprises underground mining and the construction and operation of processing plant and associated infrastructure to produce zinc and lead concentrates.
The life of the mine is approximately 15 years.
The mining activities will focus on the underground development and mining of the un-mined Western Mineralisation and Centenary Mineralisation and the high grade pillars that were left unmined from the Main Lode orebody.
GRES Engineering will manage the project development, which is expected to have a capital cost of $150 million over the first two years.
