GEOGRAPHY

Location and access

The Northparkes mine is located 27 km north-northwest of Parkes (population 9,500), and 365 km west of Sydney in the central western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in NSW. Other nearby major towns include Forbes (population 10,000) and Orange (population 35,000). The web-site www.parkes.nsw.gov.au gives further information about the Parkes Shire.

Northparkes Mines owns land with a total area of 6,800 hectares (ha). Of this, 1,630 ha is used for the mining operation and most of the rest is used as a buffer zone around the mine and for agriculture.

The mine-site has easy road access from Parkes, and rail access from the Goonumbla Siding, about 7 km away. The concentrate produced by the mine goes by truck to the Goonumbla Siding, and then by rail to Newcastle and Port Kembla. From here it is shipped to smelters overseas.

Landscape and agriculture

The mining operation is located on flat to gently undulating land, approximately 280 m above sea level, in the headwaters of the Bogan River. The course of the Bogan River is north-west, eventually reaching the Darling River near Bourke. The Bogan's catchment is therefore part of the Murray-Darling Basin. Near the mine, the Bogan River and its tributaries, the Goonumbla and Tenandra Creeks, usually consist of dry or nearly dry holes that only flow after heavy rain.

The landscape around the mine was originally scattered trees, shrubs and native grasses, but most trees were cleared for agriculture in the 1800s and early 1900s. Today, wheat cultivation and sheep and cattle grazing over much of the district have replaced the original native grasses and shrubs with introduced grasses. Occasional stands of trees still grow along river courses and on rocky ground unsuited for cultivation. Some native mammals still live in these treed areas, such as the wallaroo, echidna, and brush-tailed possum. Introduced foxes, cats, rabbits and hares are also present.

Climate

The district has warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters with an average annual rainfall of about 580 mm (uniformly distributed throughout the year) and an average annual evaporation of about 1600 mm. The fact that annual evaporation exceeds precipitation is very important for environmental scientists who are managing water use in the Northparkes mining operation.

The average daily temperature maximum and minimum are 33°C and 15°C in January, and 15°C and 2°C in July, with approximately 15 frost days per year. Occasional droughts can severely affect agricultural production.



Tables of climatic data for Parkes and many other parts of Australia are available from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.