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New South Wales Case Study
Geography Geology Mining and Processing
Air Land Waste Water Energy
| State: |
NSW |
| Operation: |
Northparkes Mine |
| Operator: |
Rio Tinto |
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| Material Produced: |
Copper, gold, silver concentrate |
Introduction
Copper is an extremely important metal. Its main use is in electrical wiring, but it is also used in coins, hot-water pipes, radiators and many other applications. You can find out more about copper (and other metals produced in Australia) by visiting the Rock Files.
Australia is a major producer of copper, and the Northparkes Mine is one of our largest.
In fact, Northparkes is the third largest metal mine in Australia (after Mt Isa in Queensland and Cadia in NSW). It is located in central NSW, near the town of Parkes. The mine is owned and operated by the mining company Rio Tinto.
Although copper mining at Northparkes is important for Australia, like all human activities mining has impacts on the environment. This case study shows you just what these impacts are, and how the Northparkes operation manages them so that disturbance to the environment is minimised.
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Copper CoinsThese coins contain 75% copper
and 25% nickel
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Copper TubingCopper tubing is used for water
pipes in buildings
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