Copper was mined initially via a series of small adits and stopes into the Whim Creek and Mons Cupri deposits by artisanal miners,[1] with records indicating that as early as 1882 small quantities of malachite, azurite, chrysocolla and other copper minerals were being won.

Other minerals noted within the ore bodies are willemite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and rare native copper.

Straits Resources Limited, after closure of the Girilambone Copper Mine in 2001–02, investigated the feasibility of translocating the solvent extraction and electrowinning plant from New South Wales to Whim Creek to set up a large scale open cut oxide copper SX-EW heap leach operation.

[5] Aurora Minerals was renamed to Anax Metals in November 2020, while Venturex Resources rebranded itself as Develop Global Limited in 2022.

[6] The Whim Creek Copper Mine extracts two volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits, namely Mons Cupri (lit.

Ores were formed by sulphur-rich mineralising fluids carrying copper, zinc, lead, silver and iron exhaling onto the sea-floor surface, where sulfide minerals were deposited as sheets of massive sulphide mineralisation up to 7 m thick, made up of sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite and pyrite.

Mons Cupri is hosted within the Cistern Formation, which is predominantly a polymict volcanolithic pebble conglomerate.

The operation runs via contract mining, with a fleet of five haul trucks and two production drill rigs.

Ore is crushed and screened to <20 mm, agglomerated with concentrated sulphuric acid, and stacked on heaps around 6 m high, which are placed atop a plastic membrane.

The concentrated raffinate is then pumped into an electrowinning plant where 99% or greater purity copper cathode is produced for direct sale.

While in care and maintenance and with no active mining, Black Rock Minerals re-processed existing stockpiles through a small process plant and heap leach.