MDM Engineering Group has received a Letter of Intent for the award of the detailed engineering and execution phase for a 2.4 Mt/y gold plant for African Barrick Gold’s (ABG) Bulyanhulu process plant expansion project in Tanzania. ABG is the largest gold producer in Tanzania with a portfolio of four operating mines and is the operator and manager of the Bulyanhulu gold mine, which is wholly owned by Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Ltd, a 100% owned subsidiary of ABG.

A concentrator plant has been in operation at Bulyanhulu since commissioning in 2001. During 2010, ABG completed a scoping study to determine the technical and economic viability of reclaiming and processing the stored tailings for recovery of gold and in August 2011 engaged MDM to undertake a bankable feasibility study into the project. MDM successfully completed the bankable feasibility study in December 2011 followed by value engineering in March and April 2012. MDM will now execute the project which includes construction of a new 2.4 Mt/y carbon in leach facility to process tailings reclaimed from the historical tailings concurrently with current flotation tailings. The detailed engineering has commenced in order to maintain the project completion schedule.

George Bennett, MDM Executive Director said: “MDM is thrilled to be working on the Bulyanhulu gold project in Tanzania. MDM will be able to bring the experience of the team’s 35 gold plants designed and built across Africa to date, including two 650 t/mth tailings plants built in the last three years. We look forward to a long working relationship with African Barrick Gold.”