Beadell Resources has signed a contract with Outotec to supply a 7.3 m x 7.95 m SAG mill. This 7 MW mill has been designed to treat in excess of 3 Mt/y with an approximate ore feed blend of 80% oxide and 20% sulphide, during the initial three years of operations. This configuration with a grind size of P80 75 micron will yield gold recoveries of ~94%.
From year 4 onwards, it is planned to maintain these throughput rates by increasing the grinding capacity of the circuit as the percentage of sulphides increase, with similar gold recoveries expected.
Whilst the ‘decision to mine’ is still dependant on the outcome of the Definitive Feasibility Study, the Board of Directors concluded that it was strategically advantageous to place an order for the longest lead item to overcome potential delays as the global demand for primary mills gathers considerable pace, again.
Managing Director Peter Bowler said “We are particularly pleased to execute this contract now as its confirms the robustness and scale of our Tucano gold project and sets out a definitive timeline through to production with the longest lead time item and most important component now locked in. Outotec is a leading Mill supplier worldwide and the short lead time until delivery is very beneficial. The 3 Mt/y plus processing capacity of this project will put Beadell on a very sound footing with the potential for substantial long term gold production at industry competitive costs.
Tucano is located in Amapá State in northern Brazil, covering approximately 2,500 km 2 of mostly contiguous exploration licences and a mining concession. The nearest major populated centre to the Tucano site is Macapá, situated on the northern bank of the Amazon River.
Road access to the site is via 100 km of paved road from Macapá to Porto Grande followed by 116 km of unpaved road. The site is just north of the equator, with annual rainfall averaging 2,370 mm. The mine site is currently powered by a 13.8 KVa substation sourced from the Caoraci Nunes hydroelectric power station in Porto Grande.