Formed in 1988, Pasminco is now a global Australian business with an international customer and investor base. More than 75 per cent of revenue is generated offshore, particularly in Asia where strong growth activity and vehicle sales drive demand for the company's major products - zinc for steel galvanising and diecasting and lead for lead acid batteries.
Pasminco employs around 3,800 people in Australia, Europe and Asia. Headquartered in Melbourne, the company has production facilities in Australia and the Netherlands, and marketing offices in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and China. Exploration projects are located throughout Australia and overseas in Pakistan, India and Peru.
Pasminco's vision is "to be the Best from Mine to Market through Performance, Quality and Respect", and aims to grow as a focused zinc and lead producer with approximately balanced mining and smelting capacity.
Already the world's largest zinc smelting and refining company, Pasminco will also be the largest zinc miner (11 per cent of world production) when the Pasminco Century Mine commences production in late 1999.
Pasminco Exploration is a key contributor to the growth and future prosperity of Pasminco. The exploration division has programmes aimed at increasing the profitable lifespan of Pasminco's current mining districts, and also discovering or contributing to the acquisition of significant new ore bodies elsewhere in the medium term.
The Exploration group is divided into three teams - Exploration Projects, Project Generation and Technical Services which supplies support in areas such as geophysics, geochemistry, computers and safety.
Projection generation is a global effort with particular emphasis on Australia, Asia and South America.
A major effort is maintained in the Pasminco's current mining districts in Australia - Broken Hill, Cobar and Western Tasmania - where potential for discoveries near Pasminco mines is high.
Greenfields exploration effort is conducted in new Queensland around the Century and Dugald River deposits and in the Asian region where Pasminco is concentrating on identifying well advanced exploration opportunities in Pakistan, India and Indonesia. A joint venture into the Duddar project in Pakistan is the first step towards developing new projects in Asia.
Mining ore production in 1997 was approximately 4.4 million tonnes.
Pasminco's Broken Hill Mine, the company's premier mining facility, is on the southern outskirts of this famous outback mining city, situated in the south west corner of New South Wales. Operations consists of the underground "South" operation and the open cut Potosi Pit. Employing around 650 people, the mine's capacity is 2.9 million tonnes of ore per annum. It supplies zinc and lead concentrates to Pasminco's Port Pirie and Hobart smelters and a range of customers in Asia.
In September 1997, Pasminco completed its purchase of the Century and Dugald River resources in north west Queensland. Combined, the two acquisitions have trebled Pasminco's resource base from 7 to 24 million tonnes of zinc. Century will be one of the world's largest zinc mines, producing annually some 450, 000 tonnes of zinc contained in concentrate - half of which will go to supply Pasminco's Budel Zinc smelter in the Netherlands.
Located approximately 50 km from the town of Cobar on the dry western plains of New South Wales, the 28 million tonne Elura ore body - a huge vertical plug of massive sulphide ore rich in zinc, lead and silver - promises to be the largest resource base of Pasminco's operating mines as further exploration drilling occurs. Officially opened in 1983, Pasminco's Elura Mine has a current capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of ore per annum and employs approximately 150 people, all of whom live in Cobar or its surrounds.
Pasminco's Budel Zinc smelter is situated at Budel in the south eastern part of The Netherlands. With just under 580 employees, the plant is one of Europe's largest and most efficient smelters, producing some 210, 000 tonnes of zinc per annum. The site is accredited to ISO 9002 production of its products, ISO 9001 for permanent residue storage and 4*ISR Gold for Safety / Loss Control.
Having celebrated its centenary in 1997, Pasminco's Cockle Creek Smelter was the first heavy industry site in the Hunter region of New South Wales and continues to be a major part of the local economy. About 400 people work at the Cockle Creek site, which uses the Imperial Smelting Process (ISP) for simultaneous production of zinc and lead. The smelter's capacity is 90, 000 tonnes of zinc and 35, 000 tonnes of lead bullion per annum. Other products include sulphuric acid and copper sulphate.
At the top of Spencer Gulf in South Australia is the town of Port Pirie, home to Pasmanco's Port Pirie Smelter. As the closest seaport to Broken Hill, Port Pirie became a key smelting and refining centre soon after the rich fields of Broken Hill were discovered in 1883. The Port Pirie operation began in 1889. Employing more than 700 people, the smelter's current capacity is 225, 000 tonnes of refined lead, 40, 000 tonnes of zinc and 214,000 kg of silver per annum.
However, following completion of the $ 33 million upgrade announced in 1996, lead production will increase by 11 per cent and silver production will more than double. The upgrade also involves major environment, health and safety improvements. The smelter is a major supplier of lead metal to battery companies in the North and South Asia, marketing under the "BHAS" brand. The smelter also markets "AZ" brand zinc metal to steel companies and "EZDA" brand zinc die casting alloys to die casting companies throughout Asia. Silver is also sold throughout Asia.
Pasminco's Research and Technical Support functions are undertaken at the Group Technical Support Centre at Cockle Creek near Newcastle. This centre is organised into teams concentrating on support in Mineral Processing, Process Control, Furnace / Sintering, Roast / Leach / Purification / Electrolysis and Casting products. As well as being the focal point for process support and technological improvement at all of Pasminco's operations, medium to long term research is examining new methods of electrolysis, direct leaching and solvent extraction of Zinc.
Pasminco is a world class supplier of zinc and lead products, with two product marketing groups, one in Australia and one in Europe.
Technical service personnel can assist customers with in - plant technical problems and to develop more efficient processing techniques. This service is backed by extensive laboratory facilities.
Transport specialists move over 800, 000 tonnes of metal each year. Pasminco's customer service ensures prompt shipping and clearance by rapid processing of export documents, taking into consideration customers' needs and the destination country's import regulation.
