China Molybdenum Company and Sumitomo made the announcement that they have received the final approval for the project at Northparkes Mines near Parkes.

The investment will be $72 million spread over two years.

The announcement said the main construction activities are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2019 and the full benefits of the project are expected "to be realised in late 2020".

The expansion project includes a range of upgrades to Northparkes Mines' underground mining, ore processing and infrastructure facilities that will enable an increase in throughput capacity from 6.4 million tonnes per annum to 7.6 million tonnes per annum.

"Following the announcement of our next block cave mine - E26 Lift 1 North earlier this year, this is another major investment in the future of our business," Northparkes Managing Director Hubert Lehman said.

"This demonstrates CMOC's confidence in the sustainability and longevity of our operations, enabling us to achieve our vision of 'a century of mining together'."

MAP: Where is the Northparkes mine located ...

The expansion project will be managed by an "owner's team" of Northparkes Mines employees.

A further 20 positions will be created to execute the project. During construction, there will be an additional 100 contractors onsite.

"As we are executing these major capital projects, our Zero Harm approach to every aspect of our operations will be at the forefront of our minds," Mr Lehman said.

"We will continue to care for our people, our equipment, our environment and the community in which we live and work for years to come.

"We believe this approach is why we have been successful for over two decades, and it sets us up for decades to come."