Brunswick mine has extracted and processed ore from the world's largest underground zinc mine for more than 40 years. Located in northern New Brunswick, approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Bathurst, the mine produces 3.6 million tonnes per year of zinc, lead, copper and silver ore and has produced 110 million tonnes of ore to date.

Geology
The Brunswick orebody comprises massive sulphides with zinc, lead, copper and silver being the principal metals produced. The host rocks and the mineralization have undergone four significant deformation events, resulting in intense folding and faulting.

Operations
Production occurs on five main levels to a depth of 1,125 metres. Two shafts provide access. Ore is processed in the concentrator using grinding, differential flotation, concentrate filtering and drying technologies to produce four products, including zinc, lead, bulk and copper concentrate.

Flotation tailings are sent to a paste plant for recovery and production of required amount of paste backfill. Residual tailings are sent to the tailings impoundment facility. Process water is recycled back to the concentrator while the excess runs through an effluent treatment facility prior to discharge.

Key customers of the mine are Falconbridge's Brunswick smelter for lead concentrate, CEZ refinery for zinc concentrate and the Horne smelter for copper concentrate, as well as various European customers.

• Mined: 3.44 million tonnes of ore grading 8.85% zinc, 3.36% lead, 0.40% copper, 110 grams per tonne silver
• 268,100 tonnes zinc in concentrates (zinc and bulk lead/zinc)
• 73,700 tonnes lead in concentrates (lead and bulk lead/zinc)
• 6,850 tonnes copper in concentrate
• 205 tonnes silver in concentrate

Flowsheets
Concentrator Process Description (PDF – 23 KB)

• Proven: 14.9 million tonnes grading 0.36% copper, 9.00% zinc, 3.63% lead, 106.3 grams per metric tonne silver
• Probable: 2.5 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 8.54% zinc, 3.54% lead and 95.8 grams per metric tonne silver
  

• Measured: 1.8 million tonnes grading 0.36% copper, 8.58% zinc, 3.34% lead, 91 grams per metric tonne silver
• Indicated: 2.2 million tonnes grading 0.33% copper, 9.25% zinc, 3.88% lead, 97 grams per metric tonne silver

Employees
The mine employs approximately 800 people.

History
The Brunswick mine was developed and commenced operations in the early 1960s. Noranda acquired a controlling interest in the mine in 1971 and a 100% interest in 1996.