Tag Archives: Ghana

Veolia wins two-year water management contract renewal at AngloGold Obuasi

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Precious metals, Water management, , , , ,

Veolia says it has renewed its contract with AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Limited, part of the South Africa headquartered gold mining company, AngloGold Ashanti, with Veolia Ghana Limited continuing to be responsible for operating and maintaining all the water treatment plants for the Obuasi open-pit and underground operations in Ghana.

These two-year extension confirms Veolia’s operational know-how in the preservation, depollution and renewal of water resources for the mining industry, it says.

Six facilities are required to guarantee the treated water and discharge quality for AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi mine: four wastewater treatment plants and two drinking water treatment plants.

This water is used in various activities associated with the exploration, extraction and transformation processes associated with mining, whether that is to process ore, remove dust, transport sludge, or supply employees needs. In a tropical climate subject to highly seasonal heavy rainfall, it is the Ghanaian gold mine’s responsibility to manage its wastewater and its process residue in order to comply with the local Environmental Protection Agency’s requirements in terms of discharges into the ecosystem.

Veolia, in 2019, was originally awarded a four-year contract to carry out these services at Obuasi. During these four years, it was awarded “Best Contractor Company in Quarter 3 2022” by AngloGold Ashanti Ghana, having worked more than 1 million hours without a single accident-related stoppage. Veolia also managed to comply with the environmental requirements in force by producing nearly 33.5 million cu.m of water, including about 7 million cu.m of drinking water for the needs of the site and surrounding communities.

Philippe Bourdeaux, Veolia’s Executive Vice President, Africa and Middle East, said: “Our group works side by side with industrial companies to respond to the major challenges they face, both in Africa and around the world. Veolia will continue to make its know-how
available to AngloGold Ashanti and to the mining industry to manage water as a finite and endangered resource.”

TORSUS reinforces off-road bus offering for mining companies

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Armed with a remit of building vehicles for the world’s toughest jobs, TORSUS is looking to bridge the gap between off-highway personnel carriers and on-highway buses in the mining industry.

Having only entered this territory in 2017 with the launch of its first-generation PRAETORIAN off-road bus for a maximum of 35 people (including the driver), TORSUS is a relative newcomer, but it is adapting quickly to the whims of modern-day mining companies.

TORSUS leverages off its parent company, Pulsar Expo s.r.o, a Czech Republic-based entity with production facilities in Slovakia, while having partnerships in place with MAN and Volkswagen on key chassis and powertrain technology.

Vakhtang Dzhukashvili, CEO of TORSUS, explains how this combination results in a unique offering.

“We have come up with a product to meet the needs of the market by offering a standard all-terrain MAN chassis on our vehicles and robust Volkswagen powertrains with all the customisation options you need to make it robust, as well as comfortable for transporting personnel,” he said.

In terms of suspension, the PRAETORIAN, which was updated in 2021, benefits from leaf-spring with differential lock suspension on the front axle and air suspended suspension on the rear axle. It also has Michelin XZL 365/80 R20 tyres, two “comfort options” for seats, ground clearance of up to 400 mm and military-grade elastomeric panels. These are accompanied by a drivetrain warranty of up to six years, or 900,000 km, and a whole vehicle warranty of two years without mile limitation.

The PRAETORIAN off-road bus can transport a maximum of 35 people (including the driver)

These 2.54-m-wide by 8.7-m-long vehicles have been proven in tourism transport applications taking people up Mount Etna in Italy – aided by a MAN six-cylinder diesel engine with 286 hp (213 kW) of power and 1,150 Nm of torque, as well as a heavy-duty 4×4 off-road transmission. This specification, in fact, means it can go up inclines as high as 65%.

Mining, defence and tourism are TORSUS’ major markets, each holding around 33% market share, according to Dzhukashvili.

“In mining, the PRAETORIAN presents a new option for companies looking to transport personnel on scale to site,” he says. “Instead of using multiple off-road personnel carriers to transport people to and from the off-grid mine site or – the other option – developing paved roads earlier in the development process, we can offer something to bridge the gap.”

One can imagine multi-mine operators in West Africa, for example, making the most of this by leveraging vehicles to transport personnel to site depending on the stage of development. The vehicle – which can also drive on-road – could then move to another site after paved roads are established.

Companies looking to transport fewer people to off-road operations may be interested in the TORSUS TERRASTORM. This vehicle has the same robust ideologies of the PRAETORIAN, but is equipped to transport up to 17 people (including the driver).

Both these vehicles have won admirers in the mining sector, with units already stationed at operations in Chile, Gabon, Ghana, Mali and Papua New Guinea.

Dzhukashvili expects more mining deployments in the future, as the wider industry acknowledges the niche the company is serving.

“With the backing of MAN and VW, and the ability to deliver customised options in-house, we have all the components needed to make these off-road buses robust, comfortable and long lasting,” he said. “Add to that worldwide support from the MAN and VW network, plus our own dealership base, and we’re convinced no-one can offer what we offer the mining business.”

Perenti’s AUMS extends ties with Newmont at Subika Underground

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Perenti Limited’s African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) subsidiary, through its UMA joint venture, has been awarded a new, circa-A$630 million ($418 million), 60-month contract at the Newmont Subika underground gold mine in Ghana, the ASX-listed company says.

The term of the contract is effective from January 1, 2023.

UMA is a joint venture (70:30) between AUMS and Rocksure International, a local Ghana-based civil and mining contractor. Under the terms of the contract, through the UMA joint venture, Perenti will undertake all underground development and production activities, diamond drilling and associated support services at the Subika Underground Mine, some 310 km to the northwest of Accra, Ghana.

In addition, under the terms of the new contract Newmont will acquire the current fleet of underground equipment associated with the project and will also be responsible for the acquisition of additional fleet as required for the project, Perenti says.

Perenti expects that this capital strategy will have significant benefits, but primarily will reduce the capital intensity of the project while still delivering strong returns. Perenti expects to finalise the sale of these assets before the end of June.

As a part of Newmont’s larger Ahafo complex, AUMS commenced development and production activities at the Subika underground mine in mid-2017.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director and CEO of Perenti, said: “With this new contract, Perenti not only expands its tenure in Ghana but furthers its relationship with Newmont, the world’s leading gold company with a world-class portfolio of assets in favourable mining jurisdictions. We are very pleased that we will continue to deliver value and certainly to Newmont and our other stakeholders in Ghana and beyond.”

Paul Muller, President Contract Mining of Perenti, said: “Ausdrill commenced operations in Ghana in 1991 and, with this 60-month contract, Perenti through its subsidiaries, will have accumulated nearly 40 years of in-country expertise with a strong track record of prioritising local procurement, training and employment opportunities across a wide range of local and regional Ghanaian stakeholders.”

Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti agree on deal to create Africa’s largest gold mine

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Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti have agreed the key terms of a proposed joint venture in Ghana between Gold Fields’ Tarkwa (pictured above) and AngloGold Ashanti’s neighbouring Iduapriem mines to create what they say will be the largest gold mine in Africa and one of the largest in the world.

The Tarkwa mine is held by Gold Fields Ghana, in which Gold Fields currently owns a 90% share and the Government of Ghana (GoG) holds 10%. The Iduapriem mine is currently 100% owned by AngloGold Ashanti. Both mines are located near the town of Tarkwa in the country’s Western Region.

The parties have agreed in principle on the key terms of the proposed jv and have commenced with preliminary, high-level and constructive engagements with senior government officials in Ghana and will continue engaging with the GoG, relevant regulators and other key stakeholders, with a view to implementing the proposed jv as soon as practically possible. They have also agreed to mutual exclusivity during this engagement.

It is intended that the jv will be an incorporated joint venture, constituted within Gold Fields Ghana and operated by Gold Fields. AngloGold Ashanti will contribute its 100% interest in Iduapriem to Gold Fields Ghana in return for a shareholding in that company.

The companies do not anticipate that any material, additional capital injection will be required by either company to establish the proposed jv, and is expected to materially improve its capital intensity once operational.

Excluding the interest to be held by the GoG, Gold Fields will have an interest of 66.7%, or two-thirds, and AngloGold Ashanti will have an interest of 33.3%, or one-third, in the jv.

The Iduapriem mine is currently 100% owned by AngloGold Ashanti

The companies said: “The proposed jv would create the largest gold mine in Africa and one of the largest in the world. It will be a high-quality operation, supported by a substantial mineral endowment and an initial life spanning almost two decades.”

Operational synergies will be achieved by optimising mining of the combined orebodies and consolidating the infrastructure of the immediately adjacent mines for the long-term benefit of all shareholders and stakeholders, the companies said.

Martin Preece, Interim CEO of Gold Fields, said: “The proposed jv is an exciting opportunity to combine mining operations that are essentially part of the same mineral deposit and is something that Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti have discussed many times before over the years. The ability to optimise mining and the use of shared infrastructure across the combined operation will result in significant flexibility in mine planning, materially enhancing the economics of the mine and ensuring quality and scale of operation that will be world class. That unlocked value will underpin the proposed jv’s continued contribution to our host communities and Ghana for decades to come. For Gold Fields, it will also significantly enhance the overall quality of our portfolio.”

Alberto Calderon, CEO AngloGold Ashanti: “This combination puts together two parts of the same world-class orebody, allowing us to share skills and infrastructure to significantly enhance every aspect of this mining operation, from exploration and planning, to mining and processing. By creating one of the world’s largest open-pit gold operations, in a pre-eminent mining jurisdiction, we will create longer-term value not only for AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields, but for the combined stakeholders in our local host communities and for all of Ghana.”

The combined operation comes with an estimated life of at least 18 years, which could increase through an extension and optimisation plan to be considered under the proposed jv over the next three years, and which could also enhance envisaged production and cost parameters.

It would come with estimated average annual production (100% basis) of almost 900,000 oz over the first five years and average annual production in excess of 600,000 oz over the estimated life of operation. All-in sustaining costs (in 2023 terms) were expected to be less than $1,000/oz over the first five years and less than $1,200/oz over the estimated life of operation.

Sandvik helping facilitate Rocksure’s mining services growth in Ghana

Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , ,

Rapidly growing mining services provider Rocksure International in Ghana, Africa, has had a 100% Sandvik drill rig fleet since it was established and, according to the OEM, the partnership has been delivering spectacular results.

With drill rigs used in mining applications, the secret to success is to keep them in tip top condition throughout their working lives.

So, parts – who makes them and the service that comes with them – is of critical importance for these machines, Sandvik says.

By adopting the best work practices and latest premium equipment, Rocksure has gone from two drill rigs and eight employees when it was established in 2009, to today’s fleet of over 20 rigs and 1,200 workers. In the process, the company has been winning work that was once the preserve of Western multinationals.

In 2020 Rocksure delivered some 50 Mt of material to its customers in Ghana’s gold fields and is soon to be working on a major bauxite project in the West African country.

Partnership is the new leadership

Part of Rocksure’s strategy is to partner with leading equipment brands – and its fleet now includes 123 pieces of heavy equipment, all from the biggest names in the mining industry.

All of its drill rigs are from Sandvik, all of which have been supplied with comprehensive parts, service and training support bundles, the OEM says.

The predominant machine used by Rocksure is the Sandvik Pantera DP1500i. It is a hydraulic top hammer drill rig designed for production or pre-split drilling in open-pit mines, drilling holes with a diameter of 89-152 mm. The company also has a Sandvik DE881 multipurpose exploration rig.

“We work closely with clients like Rocksure to understand their needs,” Daniel Korsah, Sandvik Business Line Manager for Surface Drilling in West Africa, says. “We look at a long list of site variables, including blast efficiency, hole depth, length, type of rock, etc – and that helps inform the type of equipment we recommend. But that is only half of the story – the aftermarket support package is also vital to customer success.”

Fellow Business Line Manager Parts & Services, Ricus Terblanche, added: “It’s our job to make sure the rigs maintain their productivity targets, reduce costs and help the customer be more profitable. To ensure this, we look at the site data and use it to build a comprehensive parts list of the supplies that are likely to be needed. These parts are then ordered in conjunction with the machine sale, and both delivered to site at the same time. For major projects we can put large parts stocks in place, from which Rocksure can draw using a vendor-managed inventory approach. But our support bundles are much more than parts and include machine operation and safety training.

“We would never sell a machine unless we were sure the customer could operate it effectively and safely and had the skills and resources to support it.”

A recent sale of Sandvik Pantera DP1500i machines saw Sandvik support Rocksure with a four-week intensive classroom and practical operator and technical (maintenance) training, along with three months of asset support. This involved technicians being on site 100% of the full time, providing on-the-job coaching and inspections to ensure the rigs are operating to their highest potential, Sandvik explained.

Predictive parts replacement

Using Smart Inspections supported by years of accumulated analysis on component lifespan, Sandvik can calculate predictive operating costs and recommend a parts replacement service policy before parts fail.

Typically, when the machine has reached 14,000 hours of operation, the Sandvik Pantera DP1500i’s operated by Rocksure undergo a comprehensive overhaul, which can include the installation of new engines, pumps, track frames and undercarriage parts. Adding new technology can bring the machines to a better-than-new condition, with a significant reduction in fuel consumption, according to Sandvik. The fitting of new monitoring systems also helps to give much greater visibility of drilling performance – data that can further help boost productivity.

Terblanche said: “Rocksure is the perfect customer. They are professional, experts in their local market and loyal towards Sandvik – as well as growing at a fantastic rate. We do our best to support them with all the tools at our disposal to maximise their production performance. It’s a great partnership – when Rocksure is successful, Sandvik is too.

“A local mining services supplier supported by a global equipment manufacturer is a winning combination.”

Murray & Roberts’ da Costa heralds positive impact of TNT, Insig on mining platform

Automation, Bulk handling, Communications in mining, Mine shafts and equipment, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

The global mining platform of Murray & Roberts has significantly extended its capabilities over the past several years with two key acquisitions in the US and Australia, Mike da Costa, CEO of the platform, says.

The two companies in which majority interests have been acquired are San Diego, USA-based Terra Nova Technologies, a materials handling specialist, and Australia-based start-up Insig Technologies, which develops and provides digital solutions in the mining field.

Terra Nova designs, supplies and commissions overland conveyors, crushing/conveying systems, mobile stacking systems and in-pit crushing and conveying systems. It has delivered around 75 projects in more than 15 countries, according to Murray & Roberts.

“Terra Nova is a perfect fit for M&R’s mining platform and gives us the capability of delivering, for example, conveying systems of up to 12 000 t/h capacity,” da Costa says. “Its biggest market is North America but it is also active in South America and has an office in Santiago, in Chile. It has, in fact, just won a major contract in Chile.

Our intention is to grow the business by leveraging our global footprint. We will soon establish an Australian arm and we could also bring the company’s services to the African market.”

Commenting on the Insig Technologies acquisition, da Costa says the company is playing a key role in the mining platform’s move towards greater digitalisation of its operations.

“We’ve been working on a digital strategy for the mining platform for some time now and the acquisition of Insig is central to our digital journey,” he says. “Insig’s speciality is extracting data from underground mining environments in real time and then using this data to optimise operations. The company also has in-depth capability in the remote control of machines. We will be using its systems in house initially but will eventually market them to the wider mining industry.”

Interestingly, Insig is playing a key role in developing an energy-saving solution at an Australian mine where our Australian company is working. “Basically, we’re looking at capturing the energy that would normally be wasted in a hoisting shaft and storing it in batteries,” da Costa explains.

Insig Chief Technology Officer, Giacomo Alampi; Toran Filippi – Manager Operations Technology; Peter Ellery, Growth Executive; and Brett Hartmann – Manager Digital & Technology at Murray & Roberts, went into detail about this project in a discussion with IM earlier this year.

The Murray & Roberts mining platform consists of three regional businesses. These are Murray & Roberts Cementation, headquartered in Johannesburg but with branches in Kitwe in Zambia and Accra in Ghana; Cementation Americas (which incorporates Cementation USA), based in Salt Lake City, which handles the Americas; and RUC Cementation, which operates out of Perth in Australia and works throughout Australasia and South-east Asia.

Knelson concentrator, Gekko ILR set to boost gravity gold recovery at Asante’s Bibiani

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Asante Gold’s plan to bring the Bibiani mine in Ghana into production in the September quarter of 2022 remain on track after mobilising a contractor to refurbish the process plant and made plans to upgrade its gravity gold recovery equipment.

The company acquired the mine earlier this year from Resolute Mining, embarking on a journey to return the former operating mine to its past glories.

In a market update, Asante said all activities for the restart were on track.

“Asante is preparing a plan to deliver a mine that can produce approximately 190,000 oz of gold at Bibiani in its first 12 months of operation and circa 240,000 oz every year thereafter for a minimum of six years,” it said.

Tenders have been invited for the selection of a mining contractor, with mobilisation of said contractor expected to proceed in the March quarter of 2022.

At the same time, the process plant refurbishment is slightly ahead of schedule and on budget, the company said.

Harlequin International has been contracted to complete the refurbishment engineering procurement and construction management (EPCM) and has mobilised as scheduled. The full EPCM team, plus requisite complement of tradespeople, is on site to provide training, safety and project delivery systems and resources needed to ensure achievement of a safe and productive work environment, the company said.

Asante explained: “All work activities are proceeding as planned. Principal equipment motors and drives have been taken off site, to be serviced as needed. Electrical components, instrumentation and control systems have been tested and are being upgraded as needed to provide improved performance, above the original design.”

The company said gravity recovery equipment was being upgraded to “2020 level” of competence and automation. This includes the purchase of a new high efficiency “6G Knelson concentrator” (from FLSmidth) and Gekko ILR (InLine Leach Reactor).

Sub-contractors have been engaged to proceed with sand blasting, metal and pipework repair, painting, installation of liners and belts, and to ensure safe and efficient operation, Asante said.

“Equipment that is on site but that was not fully installed by the former owners is in the process of being made ready for operation,” the company added. “As of the last week of October, there are more than 200 workers on site. To date the project remains on budget.”

In July 2018, Resolute Mining, based on some 50,500 m of drilling, released an updated feasibility study for Bibiani reporting JORC compliant resources of 21.7 Mt at 3.6 g/t for 2.5 Moz of gold.

AMS to continue servicing AngloGold’s Iduapriem with help of MAXMASS

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AMAX, a joint venture between Perenti Global’s surface mining business in Africa, African Mining Services (AMS), and Ghana-based mining services company MAXMASS Ltd, has been awarded a new circa-A$470 million ($346 million), five-year contract at AngloGold Ashanti’s Iduapriem gold mine in the Western Region of Ghana.

Perenti’s work in hand will increase by circa-A$280 million over the term of the contract, which is expected to commence immediately.

The new contract is structured as a 60:40 joint venture agreement between AMS and MAXMASS and represents AMS’ significant and ongoing commitment to developing and expanding the capacity and capability of local partners, Perenti explained.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director and CEO of Perenti, said the continued transformation of AMS, including the winning of quality projects underpinned by robust financial and commercial disciplines, remains a key strategic initiative in Perenti’s 2025 Group Strategy.

“We’re delighted to be extending our relationship with our long-standing client, AngloGold Ashanti,” Norwell said. “AMS has a reputation for delivering excellence while generating enduring value and certainty for stakeholders and the award of this new contract at a site where AMS has previously operated for AngloGold Ashanti provides further support for that reputation.”

Perenti Mining Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said AMS had a long history of delivering operational excellence and value to clients, having provided mining services in Ghana for 30 years.

“We have provided surface mining services at the Iduapriem gold mine since 2012, establishing a successful partnership with AngloGold Ashanti,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to strengthen this partnership and also welcome the opportunity to work with our newest joint venture partner, MAXMASS.

“We have a strong commitment to support and build local capability to generate social and economic value for the regions in which we operate. Under this contract, and through the AMAX joint venture, we expect to continue to support the many local businesses that have become important suppliers and contractors to our operations under previous contracts. The joint venture also expects to employ more than 475 Ghanaians with approximately 40% of the workforce employed from the surrounding local communities and the remaining 60% from other regions within Ghana.”

Iduapriem is an open-pit mine with two circuits each comprising two-stage milling – a gravity circuit and a carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant. The gravity circuit recovers about 30% of the gold and the remainder is recovered by the 418,000 t/mth capacity CIL plant, according to AngloGold.

Newmont to add to Ghana gold production with Ahafo North development

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Newmont Corp’s Board of Directors has approved advancing the Ahafo North project, in Ghana, into the execution phase, setting the company up to develop four open-pit mines and a standalone 3.7 Mt/y plant.

The project exceeds the company’s required internal rate of return, adding profitable production from the best unmined gold deposit in West Africa, it said.

Newmont President and CEO, Tom Palmer, said: “I am pleased to announce the approval of full funding for the Ahafo North project, expanding our existing footprint in Ghana and adding more than 3 Moz of gold production over an initial 13-year mine life. The development of this prolific orebody will leverage our proven operating model and will be supported by our existing world-class Ahafo South operation.

“The project will be developed and operated in a sustainable and responsible manner to create value for all our stakeholders.”

Located some 30 km north of Newmont’s existing Ahafo South operations (pictured) – which are expected to produce 515,000 oz of gold this year – Ahafo North’s production is expected to average approximately 275,000-325,000 oz/y with all-in sustaining costs of $600-$700/oz for the first five years. Projected capital costs are estimated to be between $750-$850 million with construction expected to be complete in the second half of 2023. At current gold prices, the project is expected to deliver more than a 30% internal rate of return, Newmont said.

The project will create approximately 1,800 jobs at the peak of construction with more than 550 permanent roles created once the mine is operational.

“Newmont will work to create lasting value for host communities through local sourcing and hiring,” the company said, adding that a key aspect of the Ahafo North project’s workforce planning will be a target to achieve gender parity in the workforce when operations begin.

The full scope of funding will be deployed to high-impact activities, including but not limited to finalising engineering and EPCM services, relocating the national highway and support of additional resettlement activities, mining development for four open pits, constructing and commissioning a 3.7 Mt/y plant, constructing a tailings and wastewater management storage facility, long-lead sourcing including the acquisition of 14 Caterpillar 770 haul trucks.

Automation, electrification, alternative haulage weighed for GSR’s Wassa UG expansion

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A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the potential expansion of Golden Star Resources’ Wassa gold mine in Ghana has flagged the potential for applying alternative underground haulage methods, and autonomous and battery-electric equipment at the operation.

The PEA provides an assessment of the development of the Southern Extension of Wassa and the increase in mining rates to fully use available process plant capacity. While the study itself represents a conservative plan that excludes exploration opportunities from the scope and adopts the current mining practices and equipment, the “opportunities” section of the technical report outlines some more innovative approaches to expanding mining rates and filling the plant capacity.

Wassa, which Golden Star owns 90% of, produced 168,000 oz of gold in 2020 using the sub-level longhole open stoping method.

The PEA is focused on the development of the large inferred mineral resource (just over 7 Moz) which comprises the Southern Extension zone. Around 50% of the total resource was included in the PEA inventory, which showed off a life of mine of 11 years, with total gold production of 3.5 Moz. Average annual gold production of 294,000 oz represented an approximate 75% increase on the current production rate.

The mine plan considers a production rate targeting the processing capacity, at or close to 2.7 Mt/y run-of-mine material, after a five-year ramp-up period. The plant has previously operated at these rates with feed from both Wassa and the Bogoso-Prestea operation (since sold).

Mining would be by underground trackless decline access (1:7 gradient), with access from duplicate access ramps and independent ventilation infrastructure on each side of the deposit to support the increased mining rate and provide efficient access across the mineralised footprint (circa-850 m along circa-300 m across strike). Truck haulage will utilise the dual access ramps.

The mining method proposed for the expansion is bottom-up long hole open stoping with 25 m level spacing and nominal stope sizes of 25 m length x 30 m width x 25-100 m height with cemented paste backfill. Stopes will be mined in a primary-secondary sequence down to around 1,000 m depth, transitioning to pillarless retreat below that point to account for increasing in-situ stress, which will need to be further investigated in future work.

The PEA assumes average recovery of 94.8%, which is supported by current plant performance and metallurgical test work on a small number of samples that suggest processing performance for the Southern Extension feed will be similar to material currently treated. This will be evaluated in the next phase of work.

Capital expenditure is expected to total around $790 million over the life of the PEA mine plan. Of this total, 29% is growth capital and 71% is sustaining capital. The PEA mining method relies on paste fill, with Golden Star confirming the paste fill plant was constructed in 2020 and commissioning is expected to be finalised this quarter. Capital has been allowed for an expansion of the paste fill system in the PEA mine plan.

Based on a $1,300/oz gold price, the expansion project is expected to generate a post-tax net present value (5% discount) of $452.2 million.

So far, so conventional…

The company said it planned to complete option and trade-off studies to optimise the project plan ahead of a feasibility study on the expansion, due in early 2023.

Just some of the innovations being considered in these trade-off studies include the use of automation, electrification and alternative haulage.

In terms of increasing machine productivity through technology, the study listed off the potential use of semi- or fully-autonomous vehicles to increase shift operating time and remove operators from hazardous areas. It said the highest likelihood applications were in production drilling and drawpoint loading.

Golden Star confirmed current projects included in its in-development technology roadmap were the introduction of tele-remote loading and digitalisation of production data.

In terms of haulage infrastructure opportunities, Golden Star said it was considering the replacement of truck haulage with an infrastructure system like shaft hoisting, conveyor, or Rail-Veyor. The capital demand for such options would be offset by a large reduction in operating costs with automated systems, reduced diesel consumption and reduced ventilation demand, it noted.

These haulage options were being studied to design different systems, estimate capital and operating costs, then complete a trade-off analysis, the company said.

The current mine design assumes loaders digging from open passes to load trucks, but Golden Star said feeder systems could be installed to automate loading, increasing efficiency and reducing operating costs.

And, of course, the company said it was considering options for clean energy technology applications, particularly battery-electric trucks. As part of this, it was assessing available systems and developing fleet selection criteria. This will have knock-on benefits to the mine’s ventilation requirements.