South32 is studying tailings reprocessing and open-pit options to potentially extend Cannington mine’s life, according to its annual report.

The company has its eye to the future after completing the transition to 100 per cent truck haulage to bring product to the surface at the underground mine last financial year, bringing forward higher-grade material.

South32’s annual report also notes that the North-West Queensland operation’s payable zinc equivalent production decreased by 13 per cent to 195,600 tonnes last financial year following the impact of severe weather in March.

Capital expenditure increased by $25 million at the site to about $95.5 million for FY23 as the company invested in additional tailings storage capacity and upgrades to water and ventilation infrastructure.

Operating unit costs increased by 15 per cent to $US153/t in FY23, as the benefit of a weaker Australian dollar and lower price-linked royalties was more than offset by lower mill throughput.

The Cannington operation is centred on an underground hard rock mine and surface processing facility, a road-to-rail transfer facility and a concentrate handling and ship loading facility at the Port of Townsville.

Cannington puts robot dog through its paces

In its annual report today the company also reported on its trial of ‘Spot’ the robot dog in the Cannington underground mine.

Cannington is working with a technology provider to develop and test light detection and ranging (LiDAR) scanning and automation technology.

South32 said the technology had the potential to improve safety and productivity by deploying the autonomous capabilities of Spot in various scenarios, with different data capture tools including scanning, video recording and heat sensing.

The focus of the trial was to test Spot’s capabilities in post-blast reentry scenarios and emergency response.

With an integrated LiDAR scanner, Spot autonomously navigated sections of the mine, travelling through uneven and wet ground, exploring unlit areas and producing a three dimensional point cloud map of the area.

Since the initial trial, Spot has returned to Cannington for further scenario testing, including gas detection and additional post blast re-entry.