Vedanta Resources has delivered the last zinc shipment from Lisheen mine in Ireland as part of its plan to close the site.
Located in Ireland between the Moyne and Templetuothy villages in County Tipperary, the Lisheen project includes an underground mine, concentrator and backfill plant.
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It produced 300,000t of zinc concentrate and 38,000t of lead concentrate annually.
Since the start of operations in 1999, the mine produced zinc and lead in concentrate which was shipped overseas through the port of Cork.
The firm also produces copper, coal, aluminium, lead, iron ore, and oil. It mined 22.4 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 11.63% zinc and 1.96% lead at the Lisheen over its operational life.
Vedanta Zinc International CEO Deshnee Naidoo said: "Lisheen has made a hugely valuable contribution to Vedanta and has also made a very positive impact to the local and national economy, bringing significant employment opportunities to the area.
"Over the life of the mine, Vedanta has remained committed to optimising its continuous development objective, aided by a strong and dedicated team of workers and stakeholders."
The Lisheen mine’s milling work ended in December 2015 upon conclusion of mining activity in November 2015.
Lisheen general manager Alan Buckley said: "We made a commitment to our stakeholders to leave the site in a safe condition that will allow productive use of the land, and a detailed and fully costed closure, restoration and aftercare management plan is already underway."
