Red hill

The Red Hill Mine is located off the Menindee Road, near Rockwell Creek, 15 kilometres from Broken Hill and 920 kilometres west of Sydney, in south western New South Wales.

The Red Hill Mine was Once an Underground and Surface Mining Operation

The Red Hill Mine was previously mined for copper from 1906 and 1937 both as an underground and surface mine. The underground mine consists of a 36 metre vertical shaft. Mine records from that period show about 500 tonnes of ore was mined at that time from four lodes running parallel to each other that ranged in widths of one metre to 2.5 metres. Face samples taken from underground at the Red Hill Mine have shown the mine hosts a mineral grade range of from two to four percent copper, two to three percent nickel, 22 to 70 grams a tonne of silver and from five to 41 grams a tonne of PGE (platinum group elements). The four lodes are open along strike and at depth. Seventy rock chip samples taken from an area comprising 30 metres by 130 metres, north east of the Red Hill Mine site have returned assays with grades ranging from one to 36 grams a tonne of PGE and up to 6.1 percent copper.

Red Hill Mine Could Produce Valuable Platinium Group Elements

Platinium Group Elements, or PGE's, are becoming more sought after as they have unique physical characteristics that make them valuable for emerging technologies. They contain such elements as platinum, iridium and osmium which are the densest metals available with melting points ranging from 1550 to 3030 degrees Celsius.They have unique catalytic characteristics, are thermally and electrically conductive, malleable, brittle, highly reflective and hard wearing. PGE's have specialised applications in the aerospace, medical, dental, electronic, electrical, petroleum, chemical, agricultural and automotive industries. They are widely used in fuel cells and catalytic converters.

Impact Minerals Limited Receive Grant to Explore Red Hill Mine Potentiality

Impact Minerals Limited have acquired a $125,000 New South Wales StateGovernment grant to explore the future potential of the Red Hill Mine and its surrounding area. The grant is part of the $2 million New Frontiers Co-operative Drilling Program that has been established to encourage exploration for minerals across New South Wales.The grant is conditional on Impact Minerals matching it dollar for dollar. It will allow the company to go to Broken Hill to undertake an aggressive drilling program at the Red Hill Mine site in its search for PGE's, copper and nickel.

Impact Minerals Limited was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 2006 after being established to explore for deposits of PGE's nickel, gold and uranium. It has substantial tenement holdings in Africa and more recently in Australia.

The Red Hill Mine ceased production in 1937 due to it reaching the water table and pumping equipment at the time was not available to keep the water at bay. It is believed that with the more sophisticated technology available today exploration of the Red Hill mine's deeper reserves will become mineable once again.