Name Of Mine On Which Last Employed
Jennings Mining Ltd, Eneabba, Western Australia

Place Of Burial
Karakatta Cemetery, Perth, Western Australia : Cremated

Submitted by
Eric Chamberlain - Volunteer

District
Narungula

Cause of Death
Mine Accidents

Other Information
This is a significant mineral sands mine globally, and mineral sands as a whole is the sixth biggest mining industry in Western Australia. The deposits contain no mineral specimens, unless of course you collect sand. The deposit was discovered in 1970. Several companies opened mines, and there was a gradual consolidation process. Jennings Mining Ltd commenced in 1974, Allied Eneabba Ltd 1975, and Western Titanium Ltd in 1976. The last company became AMC. They acquired Jennings in 1978, Allied Eneabba in 1986, and RGC Mineral Sands Ltd in 1992. The company formed Iluka Resources Ltd in 1998, which has continued to mine mineral sands at Eneabba to the present day.

Mining occurs to a depth of 30 metres, laterally over a large area, south-east of Eneabba, and east of the Brand Highway, in a north-south band. The company is a major producer of zircon and high grade titanium oxide products of rutile. Mines include Allied Tails, IPL South and IPL North. Mining occurs partly on agricultural land, and native vegetation, in part the South Eneabba Nature Reserve. Due to the flora rich countryside in the region, the company has onerous rehabilitation measures, although it is unlikely to ever be like it was originally.

The deposits are low grade heavy mineral sands, with numerous concentrated strands. It is located in the Eneabba Plain, a northern extension of the Bassendean Dune System of the Swan Coastal Plain, between the coastal belt and Gin Gin.

Sands are transported to the Newman Concentrator, 2 kilometres east of the town, which produces high grade mineral sand concentrate (98% heavy mineral concentrate). The ore is deslimed and washed through a series of spiral separators that exploits the difference in specific gravity of the sands with the lighter quartz and clay. The concentrate is then sent to the South Secondary Concentrator, about 10 kilometres south of the town for further separation and drying. It then goes to Narngulu for processing and export.