en.Wedoany.com Reported - Zijin Mining Group's Australian gold subsidiary, Norton Gold Fields, has commissioned a new crushing system with an annual processing capacity of 2 million tonnes, which will increase heap leaching capacity from 5 million tonnes to 7 million tonnes per year.
Once fully operational, the company expects the new facility to boost annual gold production by approximately 11,600 ounces. The system was commissioned on June 26, 2026, with the project initiated in July 2025 and completed over 12 months.
The project investment was under 20 million Australian dollars. Zijin Mining stated that it took only 12 months from investment decision to trial operation, approximately six months shorter than similar projects in Australia. The company also revealed that total investment remained below 20 million Australian dollars, roughly half the cost of a fixed crushing system of similar scale in Western Australia.
During development, an execution model was adopted that coordinated engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning to shorten the timeline and reduce costs. The facility's design combines a high-capacity semi-mobile crusher with a modular belt conveyor system. The company procured key equipment in advance and integrated bypass configurations into the tertiary crushing circuit and heap leach stacking system. Precast concrete structures were also used to reduce on-site construction time.
The construction sequence allowed for simultaneous work on multiple fronts, coordinating metal structure assembly, equipment installation, and electrical engineering. Main installation and individual commissioning were completed in approximately two and a half months. With the increase from 5 million tonnes to 7 million tonnes per year, Norton Gold Fields' heap leaching capacity has expanded by 40%.
The system aims to enhance ore processing capacity, thereby improving gold recovery from the company's existing resources. The new infrastructure will also serve as a pilot facility for the integrated operation and maintenance model planned by Norton Gold Fields, helping to improve resource utilization, enhance operational efficiency, and optimize production plans.
