Tag Archives: copper

Newcrest to apply ‘unique technical capabilities’ to copper-gold mine in BC, Canada

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Newcrest Mining has entered into an agreement to acquire a 70% joint venture interest in Imperial Metals’ Red Chris copper-gold mine and surrounding tenements in British Columbia, Canada, for $806.5 million.

The deal will see Newcrest become Red Chris operator, in charge of deciding how to exploit the copper-gold porphyry open-pit mine.

Newcrest said the acquisition of Red Chris was “a measured entry” into North America and aligned with its stated strategic goals of building a global portfolio of Tier 1 orebodies where Newcrest can “deliver value through application of its unique operating capabilities”.

Red Chris comes with a mineral resource of 20 Moz of gold and 5.9 Mt of copper. The acquired property comprises 23,142 ha of land with 77 mineral tenures, five of which are mining leases, and sits within the traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation.

Newcrest Managing Director and CEO, Sandeep Biswas, said: “We are delighted to add this asset into the Newcrest portfolio. Following due diligence, we believe we can bring our unique technical capabilities to unlock the full value potential of this orebody in one of the premier gold districts in the world.

“We have identified a clear pathway to potentially turn this orebody into a Tier 1 operation. The geology of Red Chris is similar to our Cadia orebodies in Australia and we will be applying our considerable experience in exploration, open-pit mining, caving and processing to maximise the value of Red Chris and the opportunities in the surrounding region. We look at this opportunity in the same way as we do with Cadia, where we have proven we can create significant value from deep underground porphyry orebodies.”

Following the intensive due diligence process Biswas mentioned, Newcrest said it has a two-stage plan to deliver value from the acquisition:

Stage one will see the company apply its “Edge transformation approach” to the existing Red Chris open-pit mine and processing plant.

“Newcrest believes it can add significant value to Red Chris by applying the same Edge mind-set and approach that has led to significant operating improvements across all Newcrest operations over the last five years,” the company said.

Examples of where successful changes have been implemented to safely accelerate cash maximisation include process plant optimisation (debottlenecking, recovery uplifts, process control, improving concentrate quality), mine optimisation (improving orebody knowledge, grade control, fleet management system, mine planning) and supply chain cost reduction, according to Newcrest.

As part of this stage, Newcrest said it will initiate an extensional drilling programme.

“Newcrest intends to optimise the current open-pit mine plan and pursue initiatives to improve operational productivities and milling recoveries,” Newcrest said.

The current open-pit mine has an existing 11 Mt/y processing plant and associated infrastructure which allows ‘brownfield’ expansion options in the future, it added.

Stage 2 will see the company apply “industry leading technology”.

The company said: “Newcrest believes it can add significant shareholder value by applying technology to Red Chris that it has successfully applied at its other operations.”

Examples include block caving – “Newcrest believes the orebody has the potential to become a high margin bulk underground block cave. Newcrest will accelerate the necessary drilling and studies. Newcrest intends to conduct studies and review the ore reserve of the Red Chris operation to allow for reporting in accordance with JORC 2012 to take into account the potential transition to a future block cave operation.”

Coarse ore flotation could also be considered, the company said.

“Having demonstrated the recovery benefits of coarse ore flotation at Cadia, Newcrest will look to apply this technology to Red Chris,” Newcrest said.

And, then there is the application of one of the most popular technologies today: ore sensing and sorting, of which Newcrest said: “Positive results from trials underway at Telfer may lead to this technology being deployed at Red Chris.”

In terms of exploration, Newcrest said it would apply its experience in deep underground brownfield and greenfield exploration on the existing orebody and the broader land package to potential uncover more tonnes of copper and ounces of gold.

“Newcrest has identified opportunities to expand Red Chris’s mineral resources along strike and at depth in areas where there has been limited deep drilling to date. Historical shallow drilling indicates that there is also potential for further deep discoveries to be made in the larger tenement package.

“Newcrest will be targeting prospective regions beyond the current mine looking for further porphyry centres including small footprint, higher-grade gold-rich porphyry systems leveraging knowledge gained from Cadia which has similar geological features,” Newcrest said.

Red Chris, on the northern edge of the Skeena Mountains, commenced construction in 2012 and was completed in November 2014 for a total cost of C$661 million ($492 million). Commercial production commenced in July 2015 and, in the first nine month of 2018, the mine produced 20,320 t of copper and 29,569 oz of gold.

OZ Minerals outlines block cave potential at Carapateena copper-gold project

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OZ Minerals’ scoping study on an expansion at the Carrapateena copper-gold project, in South Australia, has shown that converting the lower portion of the sublevel cave to a block cave from 2026 could yield up to 60,000 t/y more copper output at the same time as reducing operating costs.

The Carrapateena sublevel cave is still in the development phase and is expected to hit first production in the December quarter of this year. This project is expected to produce an average of 65,000 t/y of copper and 67,000 oz/y of gold over a 20-year mine life.

The study outlined a more than doubling of mine throughput from 4.25 Mt/y to 10-12 Mt/y from 2026 through the development of the block cave and expanded surface infrastructure. This was expected to cost A$1-$1.3 billion ($704-$916 million) in upfront capital and lead to all-in sustaining costs going from $1.05/Ib ($2,315/t) in the sublevel cave operation to $0.90-$0.95/Ib during block cave operation.

The plan would see OZ Minerals access the higher-grade bornite mineralisation first, via the top-down sublevel cave, followed by a bottom-up block cave, OZ said.

Mine expansion and transition to a block cave would require adjustment to the location of future underground infrastructure below crusher station two, including a change in orientation of the decline, conveyor and ventilation, OZ said. In the current operation plan, this is not due for installation until after 2021.

The materials handling system and crushing infrastructure would require additional drive motors and a faster conveyor system to hit the new 10-12 Mt/y capacity, while there would need to be upgrades to the primary and secondary ventilation systems; electricity and communications infrastructure; and water supply, dewatering and underground facilities.

In terms of the process plant, there would need to be either a new parallel processing plant installed or an upgrade of the current sublevel cave processing plant.

OZ Minerals CEO, Andrew Cole, said: “The Carrapateena Block Cave Expansion work showed the conversion to a block cave to be the most value accretive next step for the Carrapateena resource and conceptually for the entire province, as it potentially enables a series of future add-on block caves, which themselves will now be the subject of a Carrapateena Life of Province Plan scoping study.”

He said the sublevel cave construction project remained on schedule for first production later this year, with ramp up to full production of 4.25 Mt/y taking place over the following 18 months.

The company will now move onto a prefeasibility study for the block cave expansion plan, which is expected to be completed by mid-2020.

Factoring in the scoping study results increases life of mine tonnes from 84 Mt at 1.8% Cu and 0.7 g/t Au, to around 145 Mt at 1.2% Cu and 0.5 g/t Au over a 20-year period.

OZ Minerals and Unearthed Explorer Challenge goes live

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The Explorer Challenge has officially kicked off, with more than 2 TB of OZ Minerals project data going live and more than 1,000 global innovators on a wait list to test the limits of data science and geology by developing groundbreaking approaches to mineral exploration, Unearthed says.

OZ Minerals and Unearthed, an energy and resources open innovation platform, partnered to deliver this online crowdsourcing competition to find new exploration targets at the Mount Woods tenements of the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine (pictured), in South Australia.

Unearthed said: “Economic mineral deposits are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Geologists regularly spend years collecting and analysing disparate data, frequently testing hypotheses, from huge areas of land, often for little or no reward.

“Explorers are looking for new approaches to solve this problem and develop innovative processes and ways of working that can drive up the discovery rate and, in doing so, decrease the number of holes drilled for less environmental and economic impact, resulting in a more sustainable and efficient future for mineral exploration.”

Crowdsourcing is a process by which such a problem and the accompanying data is made available digitally to third parties from around the world, who then compete to deliver the best solution.

In addition to a A$1 million ($713,785) prize pool, the winning model on the Explorer Challenge will be tested in real life, with the top targets scheduled to be drilled by the end of 2019.

OZ Minerals’ Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Cole, said: “The iterative process of collecting different datasets, followed by geological interpretation can take a long time. The Explorer Challenge is one way we can speed up the exploration lifecycle and analyse information at a much faster rate.”

Unearthed Industry Lead – Crowdsourcing, Holly Bridgwater, said: “Geologically speaking, the key advantage of crowdsourcing is for us to be able to assess an area of ground much faster. Instead of accessing a few opinions, you have access to hundreds and potentially thousands of opinions and you can use that collective brainpower in a short period to collate many different interpretations and see where potential targets might be.

“All the different data collected has the potential to give signals and indicators and when analysed in different ways, gives the best opportunity to highlight points of difference and generate new thinking to help find the prized needles in the haystack.”

The Explorer Challenge will run until the end of May, with winners announced in June.

Variable rock mass pushes Rio off course at Oyu Tolgoi Underground project

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Rio Tinto has said completion of the Oyu Tolgoi underground copper-gold mine, in Mongolia, could be delayed for several months as detailed geotechnical data has revealed the rock mass is more variable than previously envisaged.

Oyu Tolgoi Underground is Rio’s major copper growth project. When the underground mine is fully ramped up, the existing open pit and underground, combined, are expected to produce more than 500,000 t/y of copper.

In Rio’s 2018 results, the company said the underground project continued to progress last year with the construction of critical above- and below-ground infrastructure. Detailed engineering design work and overall construction progress was mostly on track, with the main focus, in 2018, being on underground lateral development, the fit out of shaft 2 (the main production shaft), support infrastructure and the convey-to-surface decline.

Recent achievements at the operation, owned 66% by Turquoise Hill Resources (THR) and 34% by the Mongolian government, with Rio Tinto holding a majority stake in THR, include the completion of the overland conveyor connecting shaft 2 to the coarse ore stockpile, significant progress on the second underground crusher and the expansion of the central heating plant, Rio said.

“Overall, the underground lateral development has been proceeding well, with a total of 19 km achieved at the end of January 2019, against our second annual reforecast target of 19.8 km,” Rio said.

But, for the second quarterly report in a row, Rio flagged delays in completing the underground project.

“With the structural, mechanical and electrical fitout of shaft 2, it is now clear that the completion of this technically complex installation and commissioning work will be delayed by several months,” Rio said. “Delayed completion of the shaft, which provides additional hoist capacity to accelerate lateral development, will further delay the date we reach sustainable production beyond the nine-month delay indicated in October 2018.”

Back then, difficult ground conditions had slowed progress in some areas of the underground development, but, as the lateral development has continued, Rio said it had learnt more about the rock mass around and under the orebody and has access to more detailed geotechnical data than was available from surface drilling.

“This data reveals there are areas of the mine footprint where the strength of the rock mass is more variable than anticipated in the feasibility study,” Rio said. “This will require some potentially significant changes to the design of some future elements of the development and the development schedule.”

Detailed design work is now underway as is the work necessary to estimate the impact on cost and schedule from these changes and the delay in commissioning shaft 2, Rio said, while admitting that first production was unlikely to occur in the September quarter of 2021 as previously guided.

There were still many positive development takeaways from the mining major’s 2018 results, in addition to the record $13.5 billion it returned to shareholders as part of last year’s operational performance.

This included, among others, an update on the Kemano hydropower project in Kitimat, British Columbia, and the latest on AutoHaul™, the world’s first automated heavy-haul, long distance rail network.

On the former, a $500 million project in its aluminium business where Rio is constructing a required second tunnel at its hydropower facility, the company said it was expecting to complete the project by late-2020.

It will supply the Kemano powerhouse with water from the Nachako Reservoir, creating a back up to the original tunnel built over 60 years ago.

“We completed the starter tunnel in December 2018 and began boring the main tunnel in January 2019,” it said.

The company is carrying out this excavation with a 1,300-t tunnel boring machine (pictured) that will dig 7.6 km of tunnel through a mountain as part of a project to enhance the long-term security of a clean power supply for the BC Works aluminium smelter.

On AutoHaul, Rio said, in December 2018, it successfully deployed the autonomous rail network.

“Since completing the first autonomous haulage run in July 2018, we have steadily increased the number of driverless journeys, with more than 1.6 million km travelled autonomously in 2018,” Rio said.

The programme is now focused on optimising autonomous operations, according to Rio.

Dundee Precious Metals to map underground mines with Exyn A3R autonomous drones

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Exyn Technologies says it has signed up Dundee Precious Metals as the first commercial customer for its Autonomy Aerial Robots (A3Rs).

Dundee will use the fully autonomous aerial system for data collection in GPS-denied environments to advance its initiatives focused on the digitisation and automation of its underground mining operations, according to Exyn.

Theophile Yameogo, Vice President Digital Innovation, Dundee Precious Metals, said, “The Exyn A3Rs allow frequent and hi-resolution mapping of underground environments while reducing risks to personnel.”

Yameogo said the company was already very excited at the results of the maps it was seeing. “As we further integrate the A3Rs into our workflow, we anticipate a transformation of operations compared to today’s models,” he added.

Exyn’s A3Rs are driven by the company’s proprietary software, exynAI™, a robust commercially available software platform enabling full autonomy for aerial robots. Exyn has deployed its A3Rs as a service for customers in the US, Latin America and Europe.

By using Exyn’s aerial robots to automate mapping and surveying, Dundee is, Exyn says, transforming its underground operations in three vital areas:

  • Improving the quality of mapping data captured when compared with traditional surveying techniques;
  • Improving safety by reducing the amount of time spent underground by human operators, and;
  • Increasing operational efficiency by having more accurate and up-to-date information for mine planning.

Exyn’s A3Rs operate without the need for a human pilot and in GPS-denied environments. The company said: “They are fully self-contained, intelligent systems designed to operate without the need for any prior information, persistent communication, or GPS. With all intelligence on board, the vehicle is capable of carrying out high-level missions in complex and completely unknown spaces.”

Exyn’s multi-sensor data fusion pipeline allows each robot to assimilate measurements from a variety of on-board sensors including 3D LIDAR, cameras, and inertial sensors to “generate a robust state estimate of itself and surrounding environments”.

When married with Exyn’s real-time navigation software stack, the robots can safely avoid collisions with both stationary and moving obstacles during requested missions, according to the company. “Moreover, its robots are also able to do real-time Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping to enable highly accurate map generation.”

Dundee operates the Chelopech underground copper-gold mine in Bulgaria and is soon to be producing gold at the Krumovgrad project, also in Bulgaria.

Anglo American on the potential of bulk sorting technology

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Anglo American has talked up the use of bulk sorting in its operations as one of several projects it is spending $100-$500 million/y on as part of its technology and innovation investments.

The company, which reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $9.2 billion for 2018 (up 4%), said bulk sorters could potentially be applied to all of its copper assets, in addition to mines in its Platinum Group Metals and Iron ore divisions.

An Anglo spokesman told IM late last year that the technology was going into the El Soldado copper mine in Chile and the company had plans to introduce it at the Barro Alto nickel operation in Brazil and the Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine in South Africa (pictured) as “next steps”.

The bulk sorters in question use sensors to determine ore content prior to processing, with gangue removed using the natural heterogeneity of orebodies.

In the company’s 2018 results presentation, Anglo said this technology provides immediate grade assays, unlocks production capacity by rejecting waste early in the process, allows for lower cutoff grades – as a result extending mine lives – and reduces both mining costs and complexity.

In a copper-related context, Anglo said the use of bulk sorters could reduce water and energy intensity by more than 10%.

In British Columbia, Canada, Teck Resources is currently using sensors mounted on shovels – MineSense’s ShovelSense product – to carry out effective bulk sorting at the Highland Valley Copper operations.

Ivanplats reports on Platreef PGM-nickel-copper-gold project progress

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Following a site visit to the Platreef PGM-nickel-copper-gold asset in South Africa just after this month’s Mining Indaba, Ivanplats has provided an update on progress at the project.

In July 2017, Ivanhoe, which indirectly owns 64% of the Platreef project through its subsidiary, Ivanplats, issued an independent, definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Platreef covering the first phase of production at an initial mining rate of 4 Mt/y. The DFS estimated Platreef’s initial, average annual production rate would be 476,000 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, plus 21 MIb (9,525 t) of nickel and 13 MIb (5,897 t) of copper.

In the latest update, Ivanplats said good progress continued to be made on Shaft 1’s 850-m-level station. This is the second of three horizontal mining access stations planned for Shaft 1 at Platreef on the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex.

Platreef said: “The first underground mining access station has been constructed at the 750-m level, following earlier development of a water-pumping station at the 450-m level. The third mining access station will be developed at a mine-working depth of 950 m.”

Shaft 1 is expected to reach its projected, final depth of approximately 980 m below surface, complete with all four of the stations, in early 2020, Ivanplats said. The mining zones in the current Platreef mine plan occur at depths ranging from approximately 700 m to 1,200 m below surface.

Construction also is underway on the concrete foundation for the project’s main production shaft ─ Shaft 2, according to Ivanplats. “This foundation will support the 103-m-tall concrete headgear (headframe) that will house Shaft 2’s permanent hoisting facilities and support the shaft collar,” the company said.

Shaft 2 will have an internal diameter of 10 m and will be equipped with two 40-t rock-hoisting skips with a capacity to hoist a total of 6 Mt/y of ore – the single largest hoisting capacity at any mine in Africa, according to Ivanplats.

The South African beneficiaries of the approved broad-based, black economic empowerment structure have a 26% stake in the Platreef project. The remaining 10% is owned by a Japanese consortium of ITOCHU Corp; Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation; and Japan Gas Corp.

DRA Global moves from PFS to basic engineering at Kakula copper project

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DRA Global has been awarded the contract for basic engineering services on the Kakula mine portion of the wider Kamoa-Kakula project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The contract scope includes the basic engineering and design associated with all underground mining infrastructure, the concentrator plant and all supporting surface infrastructure.

Kamoa Copper SA, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, will develop the new copper mine, which is expected to yield an estimated 6 Mt/y in its first phase alone.

The Kakula deposit has been independently ranked as the world’s largest, undeveloped, high yield, high-grade copper discovery, according to DRA, with a resource measuring 174 Mt at an average grade of 5.62% Cu.

DRA’s project delivery relationship with Ivanhoe Mines started on the high-grade platinum-group metals, nickel and copper Platreef project in South Africa. “It was on this project that DRA demonstrated its experienced capability in project delivery which proved to be a key differentiator for the organisation on Kakula,” DRA said.

DRA was contracted to complete the prefeasibility study (PFS) for Kamoa Copper SA, in 2017. In October 2018, DRA was further awarded the contract to deliver a complete basic engineering package. Work began in October and is estimated to conclude by mid-2019.

In addition to the basic engineering, DRA offers continued support on the early works, which includes equipping the main declines with dewatering and conveyor systems, ventilation shafts and associated surface infrastructure.

Alistair Hodgkinson, DRA Executive Vice President, Projects, said: “The team working on this project has gone above and beyond to meet deadlines and exceed client expectations ultimately to ensure that this signature project starts producing as soon as possible.”

Earlier this month, Ivanhoe Mines revealed the prefeasibility study for an initial 6 Mt/y copper mine at Kakula, in addition to an updated preliminary economic assessment combining both Kakula and Kamoa into an 18 Mt/y operation.

BHP looks at phased rollout of autonomous trucks at WA iron ore ops

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BHP CEO, Andrew Mackenzie, says the diversified miner is looking at a phased roll out of autonomous haulage technology across its Western Australia Iron Ore operations following success at its Jimblebar mine.

BHP opened Jimblebar, located 40 km east of Newman in the Pilbara, back in 2014 and soon started using it as one of the main testbeds for autonomous trucking technology. The site went fully autonomous at the end of 2017.

Mackenzie said in the company’s half-year (to end-December) results presentation that Jimblebar’s fully autonomous trucks were now “amongst our safest and most productive”. He added: “This success will guide a phased roll out across other operations.”

In terms of automation, the company also said it was studying the use of autonomous drills at its majority-owned Escondida copper mine in Chile, in addition to carrying out further trial integration and automation technologies at its Eastern Ridge Innovation Mine.

Resolution Copper ready to sink to new depths in Arizona

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Resolution Copper says, after completing the two-year-long rehabilitation phase of the underground mine, in Arizona, it is ready to move to the deepening phase of what could end up being one of the biggest copper mines in the world

Resolution, owned 55:45 by Rio Tinto and BHP, is the owner of the massive Resolution copper project.

In a project update, the company said the proposed mine continued to make progress on all fronts.

“Resolution Copper recently reached a key milestone in its development, with other critical work on track for completion in the near future,” the company said.

Work is progressing on schedule to deepen the historic No 9 shaft, originally constructed in 1971, according to the company. The project scope consists of rehabilitating the shaft, sinking it to approximately 2,086 m and linking it with the newer No 10 shaft completed in 2014.

The rehabilitation phase was completed in December 2018 after approximately two years, and the deepening phase will require another two years, commencing in the June quarter of 2019, according to Resolution. This would see the deepening phase completed in early 2021.

“Connecting the shafts will enhance safety and establish the basis for developing towards the copper deposit,” Resolution said. “The shaft connection will provide a second egress route between the two shafts and improve ventilation.”

The No 9 shaft deepening project has made significant achievements over the last three months, according to the company.

“Following successful cleanup of the existing shaft bottom in December 2018, the shaft crew proceeded to outfit the 4,000-ft (1,219-m) level with a bulk air cooler that will chill the intake air for the No 9 shaft sinking,” Resolution said.

“The crews sinking the shaft use a Galloway work stage (pictured), which allows the miners to do their work with a high degree of automation, withdraw during the blast, and then quickly return to the bottom and repeat the cycle.”

The five-deck work stage has four jumbo drills, two shaft mucking machines, a concrete pouring system, and all the tools needed to advance the utilities (pipelines, electricity, etc). The Galloway used to complete the shaft rehabilitation was also removed from the shaft to make room for the sinking Galloway, which is specially designed to support the deepening work, according to Resolution.

“Removal and installation of these Galloways involved technically complex lifts with multiple steps that were well planned for safe and efficient execution,” the company said.

Another significant achievement was the successful phase-1 commissioning and testing of the emergency generator system, Resolution said.

“In the event of a site power outage, the addition of these generators provides the ability to operate the auxiliary hoists for both No. 10 and No. 9 shafts and to restart the necessary refrigeration, ventilation and pumping to maintain the infrastructure at Temporary Pump Level 2,” Resolution said.

Looking forward, the project will focus on surface setup and shaft services work to support the sinking, completing the infrastructure installation on the 4,000 level, which is underway, and finishing the Oak Flat substation transformer upgrade, Resolution said.

The proposed underground block cave mine at Resolution is expected to become the largest copper mine in North America, capable of producing nearly 25% of US copper demand each year. As at Codelco El Teniente, the mining method will be panel caving, which allows for the mining of very large relatively low-grade underground orebodies by dividing the deposit into smaller strips, or panels, so that the ore can be removed in a safe and efficient manner.

Ore production from the underground operations will be a nominal 120,000 t/d after an extensive construction and ramp-up period. The maximum throughput will be approximately 150,000 t/d. Ore will be crushed underground and then transported by conveyor to two production shafts and hoisted to an underground midway offloading station within the two production shafts.

Resolution Copper will use a standard-gauge rail system that will allow bottom-dump railcars to be gravity-loaded with ore delivered from overhead chutes, according to the company. These railcars will be routed to the dump station above the underground crushing facilities. Resolution Copper will use electric semi-autonomous locomotives to pull the railcars. The rail system will be a looped configuration, with two parallel drifts spaced on approximately 18 m centres in the production areas.

In total, approximately 594 pieces of mobile equipment are expected to be employed, which includes the large LHD fleet for the extraction level, moving ore from the drawpoints to the ore passes.

The mine is expected to reach depths of up to 2,100 m and temperatures in excess of 70°C. Last year, Rob Atkinson, former Head of Productivity & Technical Support for Rio’s G&I team, said operating at such a depth meant it really had to be “a fully autonomous mine”.