HERITAGE MINERALS
Mount Morgan Tailings Processing and Rehabilitation Project
Heritage Minerals is planning to breathe new life into the Mount Morgan site by reprocessing old tailings and rehabilitating the area.
Investment Decision
December 2022
Sector
Resources
Location
Mount Morgan, QLD
LOAN DETAILS
NAIF Loan Amount up to
$66m
Total Project Value
$157m
Length of Loan
4.7 years
PUBLIC BENEFIT
$849m
Forecast Jobs
400
Project Status
Contractual Close
Heritage Minerals will breathe new life into the Mount Morgan site, using a $66 million NAIF loan to build a tailings processing plant and associated infrastructure, which will allow for rehabilitation of the site.
About Heritage Minerals
Heritage Minerals is a technology company renowned for its expertise in processing gold tailings found in abandoned mines. Using exclusive proprietary technology, the company excels in recovering valuable metals and undertaking cost-effective environmental restoration.
With its innovative approach, Heritage Minerals addresses the economic challenges associated with treating low-grade tailings. Combining world-class technology with extensive operational experience, the company revitalises projects that may have seemed unviable.
Heritage Minerals is dedicated to designing and executing inventive strategies for complex projects. The company's commitment to environmental and social responsibility underscores its role as a conscientious problem solver.
Project Overview
Mt Morgan is located in Queensland and was the largest gold mine in the world at its peak in the early 1900s. Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately 262 metric tons of gold, 37 metric tons of silver and 387,000 metric tons of copper.
Operations at Mount Morgan closed in 1990 and the abandoned mine has since been managed by the Queensland Government, which is also providing financial support to the project through the Invested in Queensland program.
The recovery of gold and copper from tailings will help meet increasing demand for the resources required for the clean energy transition, while also improving environmental outcomes for the region and industry.
Public Impact
An independent economic analysis has shown the project will provide significant benefits worth $849 million to northern Australia.
Related Links
Indigenous Engagement
Traditional owners of this land
- The Gangulu people
The Gangulu people are the Traditional Owners of Mount Morgan.
The traditional lands of the Gangulu people (also written as Kangulu, Kanolu, Kaangooloo) occupied an estimated 16,000 km² around the Dawson River, as far south as Banana and Theodore. To the north-west, they extended as far as the Mackenzie River and the vicinity of Duaringa and Coomooboolaroo, and to the east towards Biloela, Mount Morgan, Gogango Range, and the upper Don River. Thangool and the headwaters of Grevillea Creek marked Gangulu country’s south-eastern limits.
Indigenous Engagement Strategy Commitments
- Heritage Minerals satisfactorily meets the IES Mandatory Criterion under the NAIF Investment Mandate, with outcomes across Indigenous participation, procurement and employment appropriate to the nature and scale of the project and the size of the NAIF loan.
