Tag Archives: Fruta del Norte

Lundin Gold receives Jameson Cells for Fruta del Norte expansion

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Lundin Gold’s expansion of the Fruta del Norte gold mine processing plant in Ecuador is on track, with three Jameson flotation cells and a concentrate filter having arrived on site in the September quarter, the company says.

The company plans to spend approximately $36 million to increase plant throughput to 5,000 t/d and improve metallurgical recoveries by around 3%.

The focus of the expansion is on tailings and water reclaim, ultrafine flotation (read: Jameson cells), the addition of a third concentrate filter and plant automation.

The Jameson Cell is an innovative flotation process driven by fluid mechanics, Glencore Technology says. The advantages of modern Jameson Cells are:

  • Consistent fine bubble generation with no external equipment or spargers;
  • Intense mixing with small bubbles achieving rapid flotation without mechanical agitation;
  • High throughput in a small footprint;
  • Froth washing to maximise concentrate grade in a single flotation stage;
  • Fast response and easy control;
  • Steady operation and performance irrespective of changes in feed flow; and
  • No moving parts, simple to install and maintain, excellent availability.

Other notable operations/projects to have recently invested in Jameson Cell technology include Aeris Resources’ Tritton copper operations, Hudbay’s Copper World Complex and South32’s Hermosa project.

In the September quarter, detailed engineering for the processing plant expansion at Fruta del Norte was completed, as was procurement of all major items; and concrete work was completed during the quarter, while structural steel erection was ongoing. As mentioned, the three Jameson cells and the concentrate filter arrived, while the new tailings line was successfully commissioned with completion of the reclaim line expected by the end of November.

The processing plant expansion to 5,000 t/d – mapped out in a December 2023 three-year outlook announcement – is a boost on the 4,200 t/d nameplate capacity. In 2024, gold production is anticipated to come in at 450,000-500,000 oz based on an average throughput rate of 4,500 t/d. This could be followed by production of 475,000-525,000 oz in 2025 and 2026 at the 5,000 t/d rate.

Micromine Pitram boosting fleet efficiency at Lundin Gold Fruta del Norte

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Micromine has announced the implementation of the full Micromine Pitram suite at the Fruta del Norte mine, owned and operated by Lundin Gold in Ecuador.

Located in southeast Ecuador, Fruta del Norte is considered one of the highest-grade gold mines currently in production in the world, with mineral reserves of 5.5 Moz of gold grading 7.89 g/t Au.

Micromine’s experience in the gold mining sector was an important factor in Lundin Gold’s decision, alongside the company’s desire to consolidate the mine’s various operational aspects in one harmonised mine production system, it says.

The unified control offered by the suite enhances operational oversight and control, enabling the mine to optimise fleet productivity with existing resources and make informed decisions based on real-time data.

Edward Leal, Mine Project Superintendent at Lundin Gold Ecuador, said: “Ongoing fleet analysis and monitoring helps identify machine and time cycle inefficiencies in real time. In this environment, even minor adjustments can lead to considerable improvements in operational efficiency.”

In addition to insights into fleet performance, asset health and material flows, Micromine Pitram enhances in-field communication with direct-to-operator messaging. This enables real-time identification and mitigation of shift issues via a platform that allows operators, supervisors and control room to coordinate short interval control activities.

Erich Guevara, Head of Business Unit for Micromine Pitram in the Americas region, said: “The full-scale implementation of Micromine Pitram at Fruta del Norte not only demonstrates the solution’s versatility but also sets a new industry standard.”

With the core system now live, further implementations, including underground fleet positioning, haulage management and fleet monitoring, are scheduled over the months to come. Micromine will continue to provide ongoing support and maintenance.

Micromine said: “By using the full potential of Micromine Pitram at Fruta del Norte, Lundin Gold is pioneering an approach that aims to simplify mine management through a single, agnostic system, eliminating the need to navigate multiple solutions and showcasing the potential of comprehensive digitalisation in the global mining industry.”

Bluestone and G Mining to optimise Cerro Blanco project

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Bluestone Resources says it has entered an agreement with G Mining Services covering basic engineering and overall project optimisation efforts for its Cerro Blanco project, in southern Guatemala.

Together, Bluestone and G Mining, a multidisciplinary mining and project management company, will form an integrated project team to manage aspects of the project, covering optimisation of all areas of the design, execution plan, and basic engineering, it said.

It is expected that basic engineering will be completed, and detailed engineering will be initiated, by the December quarter. During this time, the detailed plan for procurement, site early works, construction, and commissioning will be established as part of the next phase of the project, according to Bluestone.

Jack Lundin, CEO of Bluestone, said: “I recently worked alongside the G Mining team at Fruta del Norte, in Ecuador, and we are excited to have them join Bluestone in advancing Cerro Blanco through this important next phase.

“We will be looking to replicate the recent success in Ecuador leveraging key aspects of the execution strategy and team for Cerro Blanco. The Fruta del Norte project was delivered on time and on budget and represents one of the most recent major mining projects to be commissioned in Latin America.”

Key areas of focus in the near term will be optimisation, trade-off, and basic engineering scopes, Bluestone said. The optimisation work will include process and layout trade-off studies, which are currently underway. Further metallurgical test work is nearing completion, which will finalise the flowsheet, allowing equipment selection to be confirmed, according to the company. Basic engineering will be advanced and updated project capital and operating cost estimates will be prepared for the mine, processing facilities, and balance-of-project facilities.

Additionally, Bluestone says it is well advanced on the mine development contract and has been recently building out its recruitment, training plans, and project readiness initiatives. Progress on the project financing package also continues to advance as planned, it noted.

A feasibility study on Cerro Blanco, completed by a consortium of independent consultants led by JDS Energy & Mining, showed an average output of 113,000 oz/y of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $579/oz and a capital cost of $196 million (including contingency).

Using a base case of $1,250/oz gold and $18/oz silver, the underground project was projected to generate a post-tax net present value (5% discount) of $241 million.

Lundin Gold in first production stope at Fruta del Norte gold operation

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Lundin Gold says it has begun mining its first production stope at the Fruta del Norte gold project in Ecuador, with  commissioning of the process plant set to begin in the September quarter of this year.

Ron Hochstein, Lundin Gold’s President and CEO, said the latest news marked another important milestone for the project.

“At the end of May, overall construction progress was 73% complete and 88% of the project’s capital expenditure was committed,” he said, adding: “The team continues to make great progress as we head towards our first gold pour later this year.”

In January, the company reached the orebody at Fruta del Norte and said development was tracking ahead of schedule.

Underground mine development reached 7.3 km as at May 31, versus a target of 7.1 km, Lundin Gold noted. Owner’s mine crews started mining the first transverse long hole production stope on June 16, and owner mining is planned to continue to ramp up with additional crews being added as more production stope faces become available, the company said.

The company continued: “Critical path work on development to the South Vent Raise was 74 days ahead of plan at the end of May. Raise bore equipment is in country and is being transported and assembled, with drilling of the pilot hole expected to commence in early July. The first underground paste backfill delivery hole has also been completed.”

The process plant for the 3,500 t/d project, meanwhile, reached 80% completion at the end of May, with all major pieces of process equipment installed. Wet commissioning of the initial systems is expected to start in early July and continue throughout the September quarter, the company said. The majority of process plant operations and maintenance staff have been hired and will participate in the commissioning process.

In terms of the powerline for the project, Lundin Gold said this was 88% complete at the end of May, and agreements had been reached on all easements required to complete its construction. “Cable stringing is at 65% completion and the Bomboiza substation construction reached 40% completion at the end of May,” the company said. “The project’s power supply system remains on target for energisation before hot commissioning later in the third (September) quarter of this year.”

Tailings dam construction has reached the elevation required for tailings systems commissioning to begin, according to Lundin Gold. Work is continuing to progress on schedule to reach the final starter dam elevation required for operations, the company explained.

Mine development ahead of schedule at Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte project

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Lundin Gold has reached the orebody at its Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador, with mine development tracking ahead of schedule.

The Toronto and Stockholm-listed company said it has completed 4.5 km of underground mine development so far, with level development having now commenced.

In the construction update on the 3,500 t/d underground project, the company said overall engineering was 85% complete, with project construction at 45% completion.

Ron Hochstein, Lundin Gold’s President and CEO, said: “Our team has reached and, in some cases, exceeded the project’s targets, all while maintaining excellent safety standards. With 70% of our capital expenditure committed and detailed engineering nearly done, Fruta del Norte is on schedule to meet its target of producing first gold in the fourth (December) quarter of this year.”

Lundin Gold said the majority of large process plant mechanical equipment was now on site, while 22% of powerline infrastructure was finished. The company noted it had clocked up more than 3 million manhours without a lost time incident.

Development

Lundin Gold reported that the K’isa decline was completed on December 9, 2018, after 2.1 km of total development, and transitioned to production level 1170. Production level 1195 began on December 7, 2018 and a total of 330 m of level development on two levels has been completed. December average advance rates in K’isa were 9 m/d, versus a target of 7.1 m/d.

“The Kuri decline is at 2.07 km of total development and is progressing towards lower production levels in the mine. This decline was completed this month. December average advance rates in Kuri were 5 m/d, versus a target of 4.2 m/d,” Lundin said.

“Overall, advance rates in both declines exceeded the plan by 11% due to better than expected ground conditions and lower than anticipated water inflows.”

Lundin Gold said it is preparing the first stages of transition to owner operations and its mining fleet, which includes Epiroc drills and bolters and Cat scooptrams and trucks, has started to arrive at Fruta del Norte.

Process plant

Process plant concrete foundations (pictured) are 62% complete and structural steel erection is progressing as planned, the company said. The remaining mechanical equipment is expected to be on site this quarter and installation of the carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit and grinding mills has started. Commissioning of the process plant is still on track to begin in September quarter of this year.

In October 2017, Lundin Gold awarded the long-lead time grinding equipment packages, including the SAG and ball mills (complete with motors) and the flotation and filtration packages to Outotec Chile SA. The gravity mill, CIL and detox tanks, and ADR plant and gold room packages were awarded to FLSmidth USA Inc. TelSmith will provide the crushing packages for both the process plant and aggregate quarry crushers, while ABB has been awarded switchgear and substation equipment and transformers packages.

With process plant engineering substantially complete, engineering efforts are now focused on the paste plant – where concrete works have begun – and water treatment plant facilities, Lundin Gold said.

Tailings

The company successfully negotiated the Mountain Pass Quarry Exploitation Agreement with the local government in the December quarter of 2018, and extraction of aggregate materials began shortly after. Material from the quarry was necessary to move forward with the construction of the tailings storage facility (TSF).

Access roads and the polishing pond were completed in the December quarter, while construction advanced on the surface water perimeter diversion ditches around the TSF.

When fully ramped up, Fruta del Norte is expected to produce 325,000 oz/y of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $583/oz over a 15-year period.