An upsurge in global demands means the acceleration of new copper mines and deeper excavation of existing ones across the Western Plains.

“We are seeing some of the world's largest copper mines in Latin America and South East Asia close down and the new mines coming up around the world aren't big enough to replace them, so demand is outstripping supply,” says the General Manager of Tritton Copper Operations Scott Ramsay.

“Our existing mine at Tritton near Hermidale has been going since 2004 and is 1.3 kilometres deep," he said.  "At the moment we are in the process of drilling it another 120 metres below its deepest level."

Deeper excavations are also occurring at the Murrawombie mine near Girilambone.

Ramsay told the Western Plains App that the Avoca Tank deposit at Murrawombie will come into production this year.

He said these two mines are expected to have a three to four year life, and extend to about 1.5 kilometres underground.

Copper Demand on a Long-Term Surge

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics quarterly showed copper was the best performer with exploration expenditure up 65.6 per cent over the 12 months leading up to September 2022.

Ramsay said increased global demand for copper is being driven by electric cars, renewable energy products like wind turbines and solar products, batteries and electronic products more generally - and the future prospects look positive for the industry.

“Copper is the best conductor of power, it is readily available and it is robust. That's why it's so widely used” Ramsay told the Western Plains App.

Financial Firm S&P put out a report last year saying the demand for copper globally will double on current levels by 2035. “To put this figure in perspective” the report said “S&P Global noted that that’s “more than all the copper consumed in the world between 1900 and 2021”.

Energy research firm BloombergNEF has been more cautious in its prognosis, projecting that Copper demand will increase by around 50% between now and 2040.

The Murrawombie mine. Picture: Tritton Copper.

 All the copper from Tritton Copper's mines are exported to copper smelts in China and South East Asia.

The net result of the latest expansion is that mines across our region are start to looking to employ by the truckload.

“We need all sorts of workers,” Mr Ramsay said. “We need truck drivers. We need field assistants. We need drillers, HR people, health and safety people.

"Any skilled operators that have experience will be highly regarded. We need operational workers, jumbo operators, service crews, vehicle fitters, metallurgists, engineers - right across the full gamut”.