The Abra Mine
Abra is Western Australia’s largest lead mine and silver mine, making it one of the most significant base metal operations in the country. It is also Australia’s highest-grade lead resource (6.9% Pb), with an independent 2024 resource of 26.7mt underpinning a long future.
Located ~200 km north-west of Meekatharra, the mine produces premium lead and silver concentrate for smelting in South Australia and export to key markets including Japan and South Korea. This positions Abra as critical not only to the state economy, but also to Australia’s role in the global energy transition.
Abra contributes directly to the Australian Government’s vision of a ‘Future Made in Australia’ as a significant supplier of lead for the domestic supply chain that is refined in South Australia. Lead is an essential input for renewable energy storage, advanced batteries, and global manufacturing and the Nyrstar agreement ensures long-term concentrate supply for Port Pirie, keeping value in Australia while also supporting international partners.
Mine Geology
Abra is located in the Irregully anmd Kiangi Creek rock formations of the Mesoproterozoic Edmund Group comprising largely of clastic and metasedimentary rocks.
Mineralisation is hosted within two principle structural domains known as the Apron Zone which is an overarching sub-horizontal multi-lode system, and the Core Zone, an underlying multi-lode vertical feeder system from depth into the Apron Zone. The mineralisation is largely structureal, either along bedding planes (Apron Zone) or vertical faults (Core Zone).
Underground Mining
The underground operation is accessed through a dedicated boxcut with orebody being mined using mechanised equipment through longhole stoping methods and paste backfill.
The ore is trucked directly to the processing plant in 63t trucks. Endurance have engaged Byrnecut as the mining contractor, a tier-1 mining service provider.
Processing
The process plant consists of three stage crushing, milling, classification and flotation. Through this process the lead and silver are liberated into a concentrate which is sent to the onsite pressing facility to produce a dry, granular, concentrate.
Transport and Shipping
The concentrate is loaded into sealed trucks, which are fully washed prior to leaving the site where the concentrate is road-transported to Geraldton, and subsequently shipped to various smelters throughout Australia and Asia.
The concentrate at Abra is considered exceptionally “clean” and is in high demand by the various Australasian smelters.
