FAM recently successfully installed and put into operation the first line of a leach pad system in Wanbao opencast copper mine in Myanmar under a contract with Wanbao Mining Co Ltd, China. The machines are designed to convey and spread copper ore at a capacity of 6,500 t/h. Operation of the first line is already running in full compliance with contractually agreed technical parameters.

Both identical conveyor lines of the system consist of one shiftable feeding belt conveyor, one tripper car, and one conveyor bridge on crawlers. The crushed copper ore is spread on a vast stockpile by using a belt conveyor and infused with acid over a pipe system. The acid leaches the copper from the ore, then it is collected by a drainage system and fed into an electrolysis plant for copper production. The Wanbao project serves as a significant extension of the global network of FAM leach-pad systems.