Tag Archives: gold

Torex Gold Resources heralds breakthrough at Media Luna project

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Torex Gold Resources Inc has announced the successful breakthrough of the Guajes Tunnel at its Media Luna Project in Mexico, ahead of schedule.

The Guajes Tunnel unifies the Morelos Complex by connecting the existing operations on the north side of the Balsas River with the growing resource base of the Media Luna Cluster on the south side.

Jody Kuzenko, President and CEO of Torex, said the breakthrough represents a critical milestone in the development of the Media Luna Project, which remains on track for first concentrate production in late 2024.

“The Guajes Tunnel will be the primary conduit for transporting ore and waste from the Media Luna deposit on the south side of the Balsas River to the processing plant on the north side and will materially improve efficiencies associated with the movement of employees, contractors, equipment, services, and supplies between both locations.

“Breakthrough of the Guajes Tunnel was achieved three months earlier than scheduled in the March 2022 Technical Report, primarily driven by the world-class advance rates achieved by our team. Rates north to south have averaged 7.1 m/d since the start of the year, including a record average advance rate of 8 m/d in November. The advance rates are truly impressive considering the dimensions of the tunnel are 6.5-m high by 6-m wide and that secondary development and installation of services have kept pace with overall tunnel progress.

“We expect to commence anchor bolting for the 7-km overhead conveyor in early 2024, which will pave the way for the installation and then commissioning of the conveyor in August 2024 well ahead of completing the necessary upgrades to the processing plant.

“I would like to personally thank all employees, contractors and suppliers involved in driving the Guajes Tunnel for achieving this significant milestone safely and ahead of schedule.”

Caterpillar, Borusan make historic underground equipment delivery to Anglo Asian Mining in Azerbaijan

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Anglo Asian Mining says the Caterpillar mining fleet for its new Gilar mine has now been delivered to the Gedabek mine site, marking the first time Caterpillar underground equipment will be deployed in Azerbaijan.

The equipment will be substantially vendor-financed, and this is the first time Caterpillar will provide this to a customer in Azerbaijan or the wider Caucasus region.

The underground mining fleet comprises three 15-t-payload R1700 underground loaders and two 980UMA wheel loaders with 5.6 cu.m buckets.

Borusan, the authorised regional dealer of Caterpillar equipment, will maintain a stock of spare parts and consumables within Azerbaijan and major parts will be held at Borusan regional centres in Türkiye and Kazakhstan, Anglo Asian says. This will enable efficient aftersales servicing of the machines over their lifetime, which was a major factor in the machine selection process.

The company says: “The underground mining fleet are ‘state-of-the-art’, next-generation machines constructed with safety at their core. They are more powerful and contain many new features compared to their predecessors. The operator environment has been improved and is more comfortable. Many new safety features have been added, including better access points, multiple fire suppression systems and improved visibility and lighting.”

The underground equipment will be used in the company’s new Gilar mine, which is currently under construction and development. On December 11, a maiden JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate was published for the Gilar deposit. This confirmed 6.1 Mt of mineralisation with an average copper grade of 0.88% and 1.30 g/t Au. The in-situ mineral resource is 54,000 t of copper, 255,000 oz of gold and 46,000 t of zinc, according to the company.

The Gilar mine is scheduled to begin production around the middle of 2024 and will be an important source of production, bridging the gap between declining grades at Gedabek’s existing mines and production starting from its much bigger Xarxar and Garadag contract areas.

The total cost of the equipment is $4.6 million. The $3.7 million balance due for the purchase of the equipment will be paid by the end of December 2023 from the group’s existing liquidity resources. It is anticipated that $3.7 million will be refinanced by a vendor financing loan from Caterpillar. Negotiations are continuing with Caterpillar Finance to finalise execution of the loan which is expected to close in the March quarter of 2024.

A ceremony was held on the afternoon of December 11, 2023, to mark the arrival of the equipment at Gedabek. This was attended by the group’s leadership team, Azeri and Turkish representatives from Caterpillar and Borusan, along with representatives from both the central and regional Governments of Azerbaijan. A demonstration was also given of operating one of the machines by remote control.

GR Engineering executes EPC contract for K92’s Kainantu gold mine process plant build

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GR Engineering Services says it has executed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts with K92 Mining Ltd, a subsidiary of TSX-listed K92 Mining Inc, for a 1.2 Mtpa process plant at the Kainantu gold mine in Papua New Guinea.

As announced on July 25, 2023, GR Engineering had previously received a Letter of Intent from K92 Mining Ltd. The contract’s sum is $81 million. Site mobilisation is expected to occur in January 2024.

Tony Patrizi, Managing Director of GR Engineering, said: “GR Engineering has a long track record of successful project delivery in the mineral processing sector. We see this contract award as a strong endorsement by K92 Mining Inc of GR Engineering’s proven process design record and EPC delivery capability.”

K92 Mining owns and operates Kainantu, a producing gold mine that has existing infrastructure at site. The EPC works are being performed as part of K92 Mining’s Stage 3 Expansion plans. It has successfully executed multiple expansions at the Kainantu gold mine, after restarting operations at the site in 2016.

ABB solution underwrites solar power plant installation at Kinross Tasiast

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A bespoke end-to-end switchgear and circuit breaker solution from ABB Electrification is powering up a new solar plant at Kinross Gold’s Tasiast operation in Mauritania, which is looking to significantly reduce emissions via the use of renewable energy.

The Tasiast project has recently increased capacity to 24,000 t/d of gold while reducing costs.

To help meet the company’s sustainability targets, an integrated PV solar plant has been finalised – with power generation capacity of 34 MW and a battery system of 18 MW – to provide around 20% of the site’s power.

The Tasiast solar project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 530,000 t over the life of the mine, which could save approximately 180 million litres of fuel over the same period, according to the company. The new scheme is also contributing to the Government of Mauritania’s GHG reduction targets in the country.

Long standing ABB partner, Voltalia, based in Portugal, was tasked with the systems integration and value chain of the new project. Despite already being covered for protection relays, IED and energy metres, the main MV switchgear required integration in the Low Voltage Compartment (LVC) and interoperability with other devices from different manufacturers, so all components operated in conjunction, complementing each others functions and meeting all customer demands.

Subsequently, ABB specified 15 SF6-free and UniGear ZS2 air insulated switchgear panels. These offer additional benefits such as a smaller footprint, easy maintenance and assembly, plus withdrawable voltage transformer, according to ABB. The solution also included 13 of ABB’s VD4 vacuum circuit breakers – there are more than two million in active operation globally – which minimise maintenance and costly downtime, increase safety and provide primary and secondary protection guarantees.

Jeremy Martin, Project Manager at Voltalia SA, said: “Working with ABB on the Tasiast solar project was again a good experience. ABB’s technical expertise played a key role in achieving our objectives for this project. Working alongside a committed partner like ABB reinforces our belief that collaboration can bring about real change.”

Crucially, ABB technology comes with compact dimensions free of SF6 insulating gas in the switchgear or the circuit breaker – without compromising performance, safety or reliability – which was a key differentiator for both Voltalia and Kinross, ABB says.

With the relays taking up significant space and having to be fitted within the confines of the LVC door, without interfering with the wiring and other components, the ZS2’s footprint flexibility proved ideal, according to ABB. For extra protection, ABB also integrated two relays in one panel and the Relion RED615, with its superior line differential protection and control for incomer units, complemented the functionality required and fitted in the tight LVC door front access, it added.

Nuno Nunes, Sales Engineer at ABB Portugal, said: “The mining industry is committed to reducing its emissions and integrating more renewable energy sources, so it was great to be involved in this innovative project, which uses our space-saving and SF6-free switchgear and circuit breakers to help provide continuous power supply for the new solar plant to operates at peak levels.”

Nida Deveci, Sales Manager and UGUR ACAR Project Manager for ABB Turkey, explained: “The factory acceptance test with our partner Voltalia was successful at the first attempt and proved that the collaboration and understanding was clear and good from the offset. They were very pleased with the speed of our responses and appreciated the technical revisions and adjustments we brought to the table to complete the process satisfactorily for all concerned parties.”

Sakatti-FutureSmart Mining

Anglo American highlights next FutureSmart Mining advances at Woodsmith, Sakatti

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Anglo American has provided its latest sustainability performance update, highlighting a number of technological advancements the company is looking to take at its in-development Woodsmith polyhalite mine in the UK and its exploration asset, Sakatti, in Finland.

Anglo American says it has an integrated approach to sustainability in project development, helping secure its ability to deliver responsible long-term growth in future-enabling metals and minerals.

The company is moving towards its goal of carbon neutral operations by 2040, evolving its pathways as it progresses, learns and as technologies develop.

At the end of 2022, its Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 21% below the peak levels of 2019 – a significant reduction that, Anglo American says, reflects its transition to 100% renewable electricity supply across its South America operations, with Australia to follow in 2025.

In southern Africa, it is working in partnership with EDF Renewables to build a 3-5 GW renewable energy ecosystem of wind and solar generation capacity, designed to tackle its largest remaining source of Scope 2 emissions and support energy reliability and grid resilience while catalysing broad socio-economic opportunities.

While Scope 3 emissions reduction is largely dependent on the decarbonisation of Anglo American’s value chains and the steel industry, in particular, it is progressing towards its ambition to halve these emissions by 2040.

Tom McCulley, CEO of Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients business, provided several references to Quellaveco, Anglo American’s most technologically-advanced mine that uses automation, a remote operations centre and high levels of digitalisation, when looking at its FutureSmart Mining™ plans at Woodsmith, a 5 Mt/y operation that could ramp up to 13 Mt/y.

McCulley, who also led development of Quellaveco, said Woodsmith will be developed as a benchmark for sustainable mining. This includes plans for the mine to be a low carbon, low water and low waste operation, with no tailings generation and with a minimum impact design.

“We hope this can show a way of how mining can be done in the future,” McCulley said of this approach at Woodsmith.

When it comes to Sakatti, Alison Atkinson, Projects & Development Director, said the development could end up being “our next greenfield project”.

The project is a rich multi-metal deposit with not only copper, nickel and cobalt resources, but also platinum, palladium, gold and silver.

“High concentrations of metal combined with consistency of the mineralisation between the boreholes make Sakatti a unique deposit,” Anglo American says of the project. Its resources are estimated to be sufficient for mining operations to last more than 20 years.

Atkinson said Sakatti is being designed as the next generation of FutureSmart Mining, building on what it has learned from Quellaveco and Woodsmith, particularly when it comes to ensuring there is minimal surface footprint and “using technology and innovations to deliver even better sustainability outcomes”.

She added: “Sakatti is set to be a remotely operated, low carbon-underground mine with an electric mining fleet using technology and mining methods that will create zero waste and enable high degrees of water recycling, contributing to a sustainable supply of critical minerals.”

The company also sees the potential to use sorting technologies for coarse particle rejection and material recovery opportunities.

Centamin-Sukari

Centamin to boost Sukari underground fleet with Cat, Sandvik, Normet and Volvo units

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The transformation of Centamin’s Sukari underground mining operations looks set to continue, with the company having committed some $16 million of capital towards an underground fleet expansion in 2024 and 2025 as part of a push towards increasing mining rates.

Centamin issued a new life of mine plan for the asset in Egypt earlier this month, saying the plan would deliver long-term increased gold production, lower operational costs, reduced operational risk and significantly reduced carbon emissions, according to owner Centamin.

The underground operation, which the company transitioned to owner-operator status last year, is set to become a bigger contributor to the overall operation in future years. This will see underground output rise from 800,000 t/y in its 2022 financial year to 1.4 Mt/y.

This is a shade under the optimal mining rate of 1.5 Mt/y that came out of an underground expansion study completed in the December quarter of 2022, but Centamin said full engineering of this plan had provided opportunities to simplify the mine plan by removing the requirement to expand production by developing underground portals in the open pit, and therefore further reducing the delivery risk. Not only did this reduce the complexity of a potential expansion, it also brought the capital cost down to $16 million, from the $25-35 million previously mooted.

This capital will be deployed on a new equipment fleet for the operation, which includes three 63-t payload Caterpillar AD63 trucks, three 18.5-t payload Caterpillar R2900 XE diesel-electric loaders, one Sandvik DD421 face drill, two Sandvik DL421 longhole drills, one Normet Charmec emulsion charger, a Normet Spraymec concrete sprayer, two Normet Utimec material transporters and a Volvo L120F integrated tool carrier.

Earlier this year, a spokesperson for Centamin told IM that the company was assessing a staged approach from conventional diesel units to hybrid diesel-electric units in the interim at Sukari, with plans to move to full battery-operated loading and haulage units over the longer term.

The Caterpillar 2900 XE offers such an interim step, being a loader that features both a diesel engine and a switch reluctance electric drive system.

Centamin to reestablish Sukari as tier one asset with new life of mine plan

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A new life of mine plan for the Sukari gold mine in Egypt will deliver long-term increased gold production, lower operational costs, reduced operational risk and significantly reduced carbon emissions, according to owner Centamin.

The company announced the new plan today, flagging average gold production from Sukari of 506,000 oz/y for the next nine years (2024-2032); and 475,000 oz/y for life of mine (2024–2034), reflecting a 5% increase in life of mine gold production compared to 2022 (441,000 oz).

The main contributors to this increase was an improved open-pit schedule, which included a 40% improvement to the life of mine strip ratio (6.5 times) compared to full year 2022 (10.8 times); an increased underground schedule, including a 75% increase in average life of mine ore mining rates (1.4 Mt/y) compared to FY22 (800,000 t); and the integration of a gold gravity circuit to the processing plant, driving a 2% increase in life of mine gold recoveries (89.8%) compared to FY22 (88.2%).

When it comes to the cost and emissions outlook, Centamin flagged connection to the Egyptian national grid, which would deliver an estimated $41 million of annual cost savings based on current diesel prices. The company also flagged the potential for increasing the capacity of its existing solar power plant, going from the existing 30 MW to 45-50 MW.

The optimisation of the open pit involves several parts – the aforementioned strip ratio changes, deferred processing of stockpiles and an optimised fleet strategy. The latter will see Centamin purchase an additional five trucks in 2024 to support the life of mine plan, at an approximate cost of $13 million taking the Sukari fleet capacity from some 90 Mt/y to 110 Mt/y.

The gold gravity circuit, meanwhile, will be added to the processing facility to improve the recovery of the coarse gold found in the higher grade ore from both the underground and open pit. Construction of this is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025 for an estimated capital cost of up to $20 million.

Centamin also mentioned further upside opportunities to this life of mine plan, including an expansion of dump leach operations, further open pit and plant optimisation, and resource and reserve growth.

Martin Horgan, CEO, said: “Today’s new life of mine plan firmly reestablishes Sukari as a global tier one gold asset, with long-term production above 500,000 oz per annum at all-in sustaining costs below $1,000/oz, underscoring our dedication to maximising free cash flow generation. This plan is not only a substantial improvement on what was previously published but, importantly, it incorporates significantly lower operational risk and delivers improved carbon abatement.

“This revised plan underpins our strategy to maximise the value of Sukari as the foundation for growth and diversification balanced with stakeholder returns.”

GR Engineering wins EPC work on Evolution’s Mungari Future Growth project

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Evolution Mining has awarded a contract to GR Engineering Services Limited to complete the plant expansion works at its Mungari gold mine in Western Australia.

These works, part of an engineering, procurement and construction contract, are expected to total A$155 million ($100 million) and are within the project budget and schedule as part of the company’s previously announced commitment to invest A$250 million to increase the site’s processing capacity from 2 Mt/y to 4.2 Mt/y, Evolution says. It also includes required changes to process plant buildings and associated infrastructure, according to GR Engineering.

Initial engineering design and procurement works have commenced with site works commencing in mid-January 2024. The project has an estimated 30-month construction period including long-lead items and approvals, with commissioning expected by the end of the March 2026 quarter.

Targeting gold production of 200,000 oz/y for the life of the mine, this project is expected to reduce Mungari’s All-In Sustaining Cost by 18% to $1,750/oz and extend the mine life to 2038, Evolution says.

Evolution Mining’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Lawrie Conway, said: “The award of this contract is a major milestone for the Mungari Future Growth project. It secures the critical processing plant infrastructure within our budgeted costs, locking in over 60% of the project costs, and secures a delivery time within the approved project schedule.

“The feasibility study established a sound investment case with an internal rate of return for the project of between 19% and 28%, at a conservative A$2,400/oz and spot price of A$2,965/oz, respectively.”

Tony Patrizi, Managing Director of GR Engineering, said: “We are extremely pleased that Evolution Mining, one the world’s leading tier one gold producers, has selected GR Engineering to deliver the Future Growth project at Mungari. GR Engineering has a long track record of successful project delivery in the mineral processing sector. We see this contract award as a strong endorsement of GR Engineering’s proven process design record and EPC delivery capability.”

Minera Carola bolsters mining fleet with six Sandvik Toro TH663i trucks

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Minera Carola in Chile has agreed to purchase six Toro™ TH663i dump trucks to add to its fleet for its mining operations in the Atacama Region.

This will be part of a total of nine pieces of Sandvik equipment the company is purchasing for its production process.

“For us, the reliability and support that Sandvik gives us is key to our future operations,” Minera Carola said.

Minera Carola is dedicated to the extraction of minerals and production of copper, gold and silver concentrates, with the mineral extracted from the Carola mine and subsequently processed at the Cerrillos plant, where the concentrate is produced, which is then processed at ENAMI’s Hernán Videla Lira smelter.

The TH663i truck’s low weight, 63-tonne payload capacity and high ramp speeds enhance ore transportation efficiency, according to Sandvik, with the reduced weight improving productivity, lowering fuel consumption, minimising tyre wear and reducing overall operating costs.

The truck features a Stage II/Tier 2 engine, offering long engine life time, low fuel consumption and low cost of ownership, the OEM says. When ultra-low sulphur fuel is available, Sandvik offers a Stage V engine as option. Both engines can use EN 15940-compliant renewable paraffinic diesel fuels, reducing exhaust emissions.

It also incorporates cutting-edge technology that enables real-time monitoring, remote operation and data-driven insights. This translates to better decision-making and improved operational efficiency, Sandvik says. With reduced emissions, efficient energy consumption and environmentally conscious design, it also aligns with the industry’s evolving sustainability goals.

Ok Tedi Mining board greenlights mine life extension to 2050

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The Board of Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) has approved in principle a further mine life extension from 2033 to 2050, marking a significant milestone for OTML, its shareholders and for Papua New Guinea (PNG) in general.

It is also a sign of the confidence the board has in the company’s ability to deliver over the next two decades.

The approval is based on the latest Strategic Business Plan submitted by the Executive Leadership Team and discussed during the OTML Board meeting held in Tabubil on September 13, 2023.

“This extension brings to life OTML’s vision to operate with excellence, maximising the value of the mineral resource in an environmentally friendly way, to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits to the mine communities and the people of PNG,” The company said. “Several factors have enabled the extension including a strengthened long-term copper price outlook, additional mine waste management solutions such as engineered waste rock dumps and a tailings storage facility to minimise impact on the environment, renewal of aged processing plant assets and implementation of other strategic projects that are currently in various stages of completion.”

The Ok Tedi mine is an open-pit copper, gold and silver mine located at Mt. Fubilan in the Western Province of PNG. Up to 240,000 t/d of overburden is mined from a pit covering about 2.6 sq.km. In addition, about 60,000 t/d of ore is mined and delivered to the mill for processing.

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Kedi Ilimbit, said “The approval by the board on the eve of PNG’s 48th Independence anniversary is a welcomed gift to the communities in which we operate and who provide us the social licence to continue, as well as to the people of PNG. The revised mine life will see the company generate in excess of PGK30 billion ($8.25 billion) in dividends, royalties, compensation payments and taxes for the benefit of OTML’s shareholders, communities and Papua New Guinea as a whole over the next 27 years.”