Tag Archives: David Garofalo

ANDRITZ hopes to bring autonomous plant operation to mineral processing

After being crowned the winner of #DisruptMining 2019, ANDRITZ is now ready to negotiate a contract or investment of up to C$1 million ($750,480) with Goldcorp.

The live finale of the 2019 #DisruptMining, the innovation accelerator that offers entrepreneurs a platform to bring disruptive and exponential technologies to the sector, took place last night on the sidelines of the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada event in Toronto, Canada.

Sohail Nazari (second from right), Business Development Manager, ANDRITZ, and Arthur Gooch (second from left), Director of Innovation, ANDRITZ, said: “We thank Goldcorp and KPMG for their tremendous leadership driving innovation and digitalisation forward in mining. We are excited to be part of Goldcorp’s success to bring autonomous plant operation to mineral processing and we look forward to getting to work.”

David Garofalo (left), President and CEO, Goldcorp, said: “Innovation doesn’t stop or start with one idea, one technology, or one company. For the mining industry to reach the demands and potential of the 21st century, every company must step up and innovate. We must all be safer, more efficient, and responsible and we’ll get results faster through collaboration and the kind of break-through thinking the #DisruptMining platform is meant to uncover for our industry.”

ANDRITZ, a supplier of machines and automation solutions worldwide, developed a unique and continuous way of training artificial intelligence to operate a mineral processing facility using ANDRITZ’s digital twin as part of its award winning concept, Goldcorp said. “The AI is trained to respond to a variety of situations, making it capable of adapting to changing inputs and improving recovery time. The trained AI’s ability to quickly process information and recommend data-driven solutions will allow for the improvement of the operation, such as start-up and shutdown, and assist operators to achieve plant-wide optimisation.”

Deciding the fate of the three finalists was a panel of industry judges including Ian Telfer (Chair of Goldcorp), Katie Valentine (Partner at KPMG Australia and Global Head of Mining Consulting), Sue Paish (CEO of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster), Jacob Yeung (University of British Columbia student and #DisruptMining UBC Captain) and Wal van Lierop (President and CEO, Chrysalix Venture Capital).

Net proceeds of C$200,000 from the #DisruptMining live finale will be granted toward mining, innovation and technology scholarships to the University of British Columbia, Garofalo announced.

More major gold M&A as Newmont agrees to buy Goldcorp for $10 billion

Newmont Mining has agreed to acquire Goldcorp in a friendly all-stock deal valuing the Canada-headquartered company at $10 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Newmont will acquire each Goldcorp share for 0.3280 of a Newmont share, which represents a 17% premium based on the companies’ 20-day volume weighted average share prices.

The deal comes just weeks after Barrick Gold merged with Randgold Resources to create a new industry giant.

“The agreement will combine two gold industry leaders into Newmont Goldcorp, to create an unmatched portfolio of operations, projects, exploration opportunities, reserves and people in the gold mining sector,” Newmont said.

“Newmont Goldcorp’s world-class portfolio will feature operating assets in favourable jurisdictions, an unparalleled project pipeline, and exploration potential in the most prospective gold districts around the globe. In addition to providing shareholders the largest gold Reserves per share, Newmont Goldcorp will offer the highest annual dividend among senior gold producers.”

Gary Goldberg, Newmont’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have a proven strategy and disciplined implementation plan to realise the full value of the combination, including an exceptional pool of talented mining professionals, stable and profitable gold production of 6-7 Moz over a decades-long time horizon, the sector’s largest gold reserve and resource base, and a leading project and exploration pipeline.

“Our cultures are well aligned, with strong commitments to zero harm, inclusion and diversity, and industry-leading environmental, social and governance performance. We expect to generate up to $100 million in annual pre-tax synergies, with additional cost and efficiency opportunities that will be pursued through our proven full potential continuous improvement programme.”

Newmont Goldcorp’s reserves and resources will represent the largest in the gold sector, located in favourable mining jurisdictions in the Americas, Australia and Ghana, representing approximately 75%, 15% and 10%, respectively.

Newmont Goldcorp will also prioritise project development by returns and risk, while targeting $1.0 to 1.5 billion in divestitures over the next two years to optimise gold production at a sustainable, steady-state level of 6-7 Moz annually.

Goldcorp’s President and Chief Executive Officer, David Garofalo, said: “Newmont Goldcorp will be one of Canada’s largest gold producers and will have its North America regional office in Vancouver, and expects to oversee more than three million ounces of the combined company’s total annual gold production.”

Following the merger, Newmont Goldcorp’s management team will be appointed on a “best talent” basis, Newmont said, with Gary Goldberg as Chief Executive Officer and Tom Palmer as President and Chief Operating Officer.

As part of a planned and orderly leadership succession process, Goldberg and Newmont’s board have been engaged in discussions anticipating a CEO succession in early 2019. In October 2018, the company also announced Palmer’s promotion to President and Chief Operating Officer.

To ensure a smooth and successful combination, Goldberg has agreed to lead Newmont Goldcorp through closure of the transaction and integration of the two companies. The company expects this process to be substantially completed in the December quarter of 2019, when Goldberg plans to retire and Palmer will become President and Chief Executive Officer.

The Board of Directors will be proportionally comprised of Newmont and Goldcorp Directors, with Noreen Doyle as Chair and Ian Telfer as Deputy Chair.

Goldcorp’s Vancouver, Canada, office will become Newmont Goldcorp’s North America regional office, while Newmont Goldcorp’s South America regional office will be in Miami, US, the Australia regional office will be in Perth, and the Africa regional office will be in Accra, Ghana. Newmont Goldcorp will be a Delaware corporation with its corporate headquarters in Colorado, US.

The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, including in the case of Goldcorp, on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors of Goldcorp.

The transaction is expected to close in the June quarter, but closing is subject to approval by the shareholders of both companies; regulatory approvals in a number of jurisdictions including the European Union, Canada, South Korea and Mexico; and other customary closing conditions.

Goldcorp turning tailings into money at Peñasquito Pyrite Leach project

Goldcorp has achieved first gold at the Pyrite Leach project (PLP) at its Peñasquito operation in Mexico.

Commissioning commenced in the September quarter and the PLP is now processing 100% of the existing plant tailings, with the PLP plant operating 24 h/d as it continues to ramp up.

David Garofalo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Goldcorp, said the project was a major investment decision for the company and one of the first that went through the “Goldcorp Investment Framework”.

“We are very pleased with the results in completing the project both ahead of budget and schedule. We are already moving forward with a post investment review where we can take our lessons learned to continue to improve our framework and overall capital allocation strategy,” he said.

The PLP is part of Goldcorp’s $420 million investment to improve the processing facilities at its Peñasquito operation. It is expected to recover some 35% of the gold and 42% of the silver currently reporting to the tailings and add production of over 1 Moz of gold and 45 Moz of silver over the current life of the mine.

The PLP plant processes the existing plant tails, feeding a sequential flotation and leach circuit with precious metals recovered through a Merrill Crowe process, producing doré as the final product. Tails from the new plant will report to the existing tailings storage facility. As the plant is ramped up to achieve design recovery, there will be ongoing optimisation of the circuit chemistry and regrind performance.

Goldcorp highlighted that the PLP was delivered with over 9.5 Million site-hours, zero lost time incidents and an industry-leading all injury frequency rate of 0.09. It was constructed by a 100% Mexican workforce, commissioned two quarters ahead of schedule and came in 9% under the $420 million budget.

Commercial production is now expected by the end of 2018, two quarters ahead of plan, the company said.

The carbon pre-flotation circuit (CPP), which is integral to the performance of the PLP and existing plant, was commissioned in the June quarter as planned and the circuit has now treated 6 Mt of high-carbon ore and is operating and exceeding initial performance expectations.

The completion of the CPP de-risks not only stockpiled material, it also enhances flexibility to sequence ores and has the capability to process the complex organic carbon ore types remaining in the reserves. CPP achieved commercial production on October 1.

The CPP circuit currently consists of three stages of flotation to remove organic carbon from the cyclone overflow prior to the existing lead flotation circuit.