The last several years have been incredibly challenging; our region has seen drought, storm, fire and now we are recovering from one of the most disastrous floods – all in the aftermath of COVID-19.

In November we celebrated the official announcement of a three-year sponsorship agreement with Parkes Early Intervention Project – Project Sprouts.

Northparkes two rounds of Community Investment Program per year, with a total of $50,000 awarded to successful applicants each round.

Throughout the year, we celebrated and participated in several events to champion and develop the skills of women in our industry and community.

During 2022 we were awarded a grant of $500,000.00 from the NSW Government’s Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Activation Fund for the metallurgy component of ongoing studies at the E22 Deposit within our current mining leases. The Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Activation Fund was created by NSW Government with the aim of establishing the state as a key producer and processor in the critical metals sector, which includes copper – the major metal mined at our operations. The grant was the result of work by both our Life of Mine and Exploration (LOMEX) and Ore Processing Departments.

In 2022 Northparkes achieved a new record for mill production of 7.604MTpa.

Our Environment Team were awarded the 2022 Parkes Shire Australia Day Environmental Award for our work and success at a property called Kakoda. After many years of planning, the Kokoda revegetation was successfully completed in 2021.

Construction of tailings storage facilities was in full swing throughout all of 2022, and will continue into 2023. Various works were performed on three of our tailings storage facilities; Estcourt TSF, Rosedale TSF and TSF2.

The wet and boggy conditions through winter and spring delayed exploration drilling in 2022, however we continued to actively explore our Mining Leases.

During the year there was blasting and preparation for the E31 and E31N Open Pit, the waste material is being used for Rosedale TSF stage 3 construction. The E31 and E31N Ope Pits Project is planned for 2023.