Tag Archives: Mali

Leo Lithium awards Corica Mali Goulamina open-pit mining contract

Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Corica Mali, a subsidiary of Corica Mining Services, has been awarded the open-pit mining services contract at Leo Lithium’s Goulamina project in Mali, a contract valued at approximately $348 million.

The contract, awarded following the completion of a competitive tender process and extensive due diligence, encompasses six months of pre-production activities at Goulamina followed by a fixed five-year term.

The scope of the contract comprises grade control, drill and blast, load and haul, and plant ore feed services. The planned material movement target is 18-20 Mt/y over the term. Corica has already mobilised to site under an early works contract and is currently undertaking the pre-strip and direct shipped ore (DSO) mining and crushing services.

Corica has a successful track record operating in the West African region for over 20 years, and has over 2,000 employees, according to Leo Lithium. It is currently providing large-scale mining services to a number of leading ASX and TSX listed mining companies across seven mining operations in Mali and neighbouring countries of Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. This includes the Syama open-pit operation (operated by Resolute Mining), the Waghnion mine (majority owned by Endeavour Mining) and the Tongon mine (majority owned by Barrick Gold).

Goulamina is a spodumene project with development underway, located 50 km west of Bougouni in Mali with all approvals and key permits received to bring the project into production. An updated definitive feasibility study was completed in December 2021, which outlined conventional open-pit mining methods involving drilling, blasting, loading and hauling. High-quality concentrate has been validated by test work, including production of concentrate grade of 6% Li2O and low mica. Leo Lithium and Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd own the project through a 50:50 joint venture, with the Government of Mali having the option to take up a 10% free carried interest in the project.

Leo Lithium Managing Director, Simon Hay, said: “We are delighted to appoint Corica as our mining services contractor following an intensive tender process. Corica has a long history and strong presence in Mali and will bring substantial local employment and supplier opportunities to the region.

“With the mining contractor now in place, Leo Lithium has taken another major step towards realising its target of first spodumene concentrate production in the first half of 2024. We look forward to working with Corica over the long term, commencing with DSO activities this quarter.”

TORSUS reinforces off-road bus offering for mining companies

Mining equipment, Mining safety, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.”

Epiroc to deliver automation-ready drill rigs and LHDs to Hummingbird’s Komana mine

Automation, Equipment maintenance, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Epiroc says it has won a large equipment order for a new underground mine at the Hummingbird Resources-owned Komana mine in southern Mali.

Hummingbird, through its subsidiary Société des Mines de Komana, has selected Epiroc drill rigs and loaders with advanced automation features for the development of a new underground mine at Komana, which is part of Hummingbird’s wider Yanfolila operation. Epiroc is to also provide drilling consumables as part of the agreement.

The equipment is made up of Boomer M2 face drilling rigs; Simba M6 production drilling rigs; and Scooptram ST18 loaders. The loaders will come equipped with Scooptram Automation, which lets an operator control the vehicles tele-remotely from a safe distance.

Additional automation features for the machines include Epiroc’s telematics system Certiq, which allows for intelligent monitoring of machine performance and productivity in real time, and Epiroc’s Rig Control System, RCS, which makes them ready for automation and remote control.

Sarah Hoffman, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Epiroc’s Underground division, said: “We look forward to contributing to Hummingbird Resources’ success at their new underground mine, where our machines and first-rate automation solutions will help achieve optimal productivity and safety, and we thank them for placing their trust in Epiroc as their partner of choice.”

Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird Resource, added: “With Epiroc’s specialty and experience in underground mining equipment supply, Hummingbird has a partner of choice in the industry. As Epiroc’s equipment arrives on site, we are increasingly progressing our underground mine development at our Yanfolila, Mali operation to underpin the future production pipeline at that asset for the company.”

WEC Projects, Multotec combine for Mali gold mine modular wastewater treatment plant

Environmental, Mine operation news, Water management, , , , , , ,

WEC Projects, in conjunction with its partner, Multotec, has designed and custom engineered a wastewater treatment plant for a gold mine in Mali, West Africa.

The plant, used to remove arsenic from the mine’s wastewater stream, incorporates a modular design which simplifies the logistics and reduces the costs of transport and installation, according to WEC Projects.

The international mine operator is a client of Multotec, an engineering company specialising in mineral processing plant design and installation. The company approached WEC Projects, a local EPC contractor in the water and wastewater treatment industry, to jointly develop a customised solution to remove toxic arsenic from the mine’s wastewater. A multi-stage removal system was required to meet the strict standards for the mine’s discharge. However, the system also required a modular design which would facilitate the transportation, installation and commissioning of the plant.

Wayne Taljaard, Managing Director of WEC Projects, said: “The mining industry in Africa presents some very unique challenges, not the least of which are the remote locations of many of the mines and the difficulties experienced in getting staff and equipment to sites where road, power and water infrastructure is often lacking, hence the requirement by Multotec for a modular solution that would allow for rapid transport to site and to simplify its installation and commissioning.

“The COVID-19 pandemic added to the difficulties for us and the client, causing delays that reduced the time frame for delivery.”

In the treatment process, the mine’s wastewater undergoes primary solid/water separation using coagulation and flocculation and the primary clarifier. From there it enters a two-stage chemical precipitation and secondary clarification process to reduce the arsenic levels. The final stage sees the sludge undergo dewatering before disposal. The treated water, although not potable, is then reused by the mine for process applications.

The plant has a processing capacity of 150 cu.m/h and is capable of reducing the arsenic levels from around 13 mg per litre to less than 0.1 mg per litre.

Taljaard added: “The project, incorporates a number of unique features in addition to its modular design, including nine custom-designed, proprietary lamella clarifiers and a multi-stage arsenic removal process capable of treating the wastewater to the mine’s discharge standards. WEC Projects has completed a number of water and wastewater treatment projects throughout Africa. Our ability to provide a customised and modular solution for Multotec underscores our ability as a major player in the industry both in South Africa as well as across the continent.”

Cora Gold adds SENET, CSA Global and Epoch Resources to Sanankoro DFS team

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Cora Gold Ltd has made key appointments related to the definitive feasibility study (DFS) it is carrying out on the Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali, bringing SENET, CSA Global and Epoch Resources into the study team, as well as naming Russell Bradford as Project Manager.

SENET, a DRA Global group company, has been appointed as independent project manager to oversee the critical elements of the DFS, while CSA Global, a member of the ERM group of companies, will be the geological and mining consultant, tasked with managing the updated mineral resource estimate and mining study. Epoch Resources has been appointed to oversee the tailings storage facility of the DFS.

The DFS will build upon the January 2020 scoping study, which outlined average annual production from Sanankoro of 45,632 oz.

Following positive metallurgical test work results in the second half of 2020, in addition to more recent positive drilling results, the company says it is likely it will look to focus on a conventional gravity/carbon in leach processing route at Sanankoro to allow higher recoveries.

Bert Monro, CEO of Cora Gold, said: “2021 has seen significant activity at Sanankoro with exceptional results reported from our largest ever drill campaign at the project. These results will support an updated mineral resource estimate in the coming months, which, in turn, will be used as the basis for our DFS aimed at outlining the optimum route to develop Sanankoro into a new gold mine in Mali.

“Last year’s scoping study highlighted the potential high returns for Sanankoro and fuelled our confidence in Sanankoro’s strong fundamentals, and the company looks forward to publishing the DFS in the first half of 2022.”

PhotonAssay tech set for Western Africa debut with MSALABS agreement at Morila

Mineral exploration, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chrysos’ PhotonAssay technology is set to make a debut in the Western Africa market after Capital Ltd’s MSALABS signed a provisional five-year agreement with Societe Des Mines De Morila SA at the Morila gold mine in Mali.

The mine, which has an existing drilling contract with Capital Ltd, is 80%-owned by Firefinch. The ASX-listed company acquired the mine in November 2020 with the view to increase production at the 4.5 Mt/y mill from a current annual production profile of 40,000 oz/y of gold from tailings treatment, towards a target of 70,000-90,000 oz/y of gold through mining of small open pits, stocks and tailings from mid-2021. In 2022, Firefinch plans to increase production to 150,000-200,000 oz/y by re-commencing mining from the main Morila pit.

The contract, which remains subject to final terms and conditions, could see the first PhotonAssay arrive on site before the end of the year. This would be the first Chrysos unit to be deployed in Western Africa, according to Capital.

This news came out in the release of the company’s interim results, which outlined a 51.6% year-on-year boost in revenue to $98.7 million and a 238.6% boost in adjusted profit to $12.7 million.

MSALABS also has a PhotonAssay contract in place with Barrick Gold at the Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania, which could see the deployment of at least six PhotonAssay units.

Capital said the initial Chrysos unit had arrived in Tanzania and was in transit to the Bulyanhulu laboratory, with commissioning anticipated imminently, with the Chrysos team now on site.

An additional Chrysos unit secured for Canada was scheduled for arrival in Val d’Or, Quebec, in the December quarter, representing an expansion of MSALABS’ presence in the country and entry into the prolific Abitibi Belt. Capital Ltd said offtake discussions are well advanced for the unit’s capacity.

Capital Ltd Executive Chairman, Jamie Boyton, said of the Photon Assay tech: “Chrysos has the potential to disrupt the geochemical analysis sector and we are encouraged by the demand we see as we prepare to roll out the second unit in Val d’Or in Quebec, Canada, in the December quarter of this year, and the third at Morila in Mali soon thereafter.”

Driven in part by increasing industry focus on safety, sustainability and sample turnaround time, Chrysos PhotonAssay is competing with the centuries-old fire assay process in the gold assaying market. Chrysos says the technology, which originated out of a CSIRO project, is fast taking over fire assay to be the preferred technology of miners and laboratories seeking a solution to the supply chain and environmental challenges created by traditional gold assaying methods.

Hitting samples with high-energy X-rays, PhotonAssay causes excitation of atomic nuclei allowing enhanced analysis of gold, silver and complementary elements in as little as two minutes, Chrysos claims. Importantly, the non-destructive process allows large samples of up to 500 g to be measured and provides a “true” bulk reading independent of the chemical or physical form of the sample.

Mota-Engil and Mali-owned IMS to tackle Morila satellites and Super Pit

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Mining contractor, Mota-Engil, and Mali-owned and operated contractor, Inter-Mining Services (IMS), are to carry out open-pit mining services at the Morila gold mine in Mali, following a contract award from Firefinch Ltd.

The two companies have entered a joint venture to carry out this contract, which will see them mine the satellite pits, Viper and N’tiola, as well as phase 1 mining of the Morila Super Pit.

The contract has an estimated value of some $360 million and includes site preparation and mining operations at the Viper and N’tiola satellite pits, and the Morila Super Pit. The scope of works also includes run of mine stockpile management at the Morila plant.

Mota-Engil have over 75 years of experience operating in Africa, and a demonstrated track record of operating at the scale required to pre-strip and mine the Morila Super Pit, Firefinch said. IMS, meanwhile, has extensive experience operating in the Malian mining sector.

“The combined expertise and capability offered by the joint venture allows for operating at scale, while combining strong local knowledge and content,” Firefinch said.

Work under the JV is scheduled to commence at the satellite pit of Viper and N’tiola in August 2021, with mining at the Morila Super Pit scheduled for the March quarter of 2022.

Firefinch’s Managing Director, Dr Michael Anderson, said: “The joint venture will bring together the capability to operate at scale, and a well-established locally owned and operated business that will maximise local content. It was great to have spent time at Morila and in Bamako this month, where we executed this important milestone. We have identified a solution that brings both local content and the technical capability required to undertake our open pit mining for future years.”

Firefinch has an 80% interest in the Morila gold mine, which has produced 7.5 Moz of gold since 2000. The ASX-listed company acquired the mine in November 2020 with the view to increase production at the 4.5 Mt/y mill from a current annual production profile of 40,000 oz/y of gold from tailings treatment, towards a target of 70,000-90,000 oz/y of gold through mining of small open pits, stocks and tailings from mid-2021. In 2022, Firefinch plans to increase production to 150,000-200,000 oz/y by re-commencing mining from the main Morila pit.

Suntrace, BayWa re, B2Gold commission ‘world’s largest’ off-grid solar-battery system

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Suntrace GmbH and BayWa re, together with B2Gold, have completed commissioning of what they say is the world’s largest off-grid solar-battery hybrid system for the mining industry at the Fekola gold mine in Mali.

The solar-battery hybrid plant was integrated and commissioned successfully with the existing power plant operation, with the solar plant on course to be 100% complete by the end of June.

Hybrid projects such as this, which combine solar energy with conventional energy generation and battery storage, are an effective way to provide reliable power supply day and night in off-grid areas, Suntrace says. “Ideally suited to their needs, B2Gold approved the hybrid project for implementation in July 2019, following completion of preliminary studies by Suntrace and BayWa re.”

The Fekola gold mine operates 24-hours a day. During the daytime, the new 30 MW solar plant allows three out of six heavy fuel oil generators to be shut down; the energy production of the residual three generators could also be significantly reduced. The 15.4 MWh battery storage compensates for energy generation fluctuations and assures a reliable operation, which allows up to 75% of the electricity demand of the gold mine to be covered by renewable energy during the daytime, Suntrace said.

Dennis Stansbury, Senior Vice President at B2Gold, said: “Suntrace and BayWa re have played a vital role in our work towards more sustainable production at Fekola. The implementation of a solar-battery hybrid system was an obvious choice to help achieve this, not only for its environmental credentials, but also its economic viability. This is a landmark project which we expect to pave the way for more sustainable power generation within the mining industry in West Africa.”

The integration of the solar power plant with the battery system will ensure safe and reliable power, saving 13.1 million litres of heavy fuel oil a year.

Martin Schlecht, COO of Suntrace, said: “We are very proud that B2Gold has entrusted Suntrace, together with BayWa re as engineering and procurement contractor, to support the development and implementation of this innovative project. Thanks to excellent team work with B2Gold and BayWa re, we were able to manage the completion despite the global challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic imposed on all of us. We are proud to jointly deliver a functioning project, well integrated with the mining operations, which reduces CO2 emissions from power generation for the Fekola mine by roughly 20%.”

The photovoltaic-battery system will help to reduce CO2 emissions by 39 000 t/y, according to the company.

Thorsten Althaus, Project Manager at BayWa re, added: “Integrating such a large amount of solar into a small, isolated grid safely and reliably has been a major technical challenge and required the use of battery storage as well as a tailor-made control system. This was conceptualised in the early stages of the project and we ensured that our vision was implemented accordingly by the suppliers. It is extremely rewarding to see how well this solution performs in reality and shows that the technology works and is just waiting to be applied on further projects.”

Optimising energy management at B2Gold’s Fekola mine

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The delivery of a cutting-edge 17 MW/15 MWh energy storage platform and Wärtsilä’s advanced GEMS system is optimising energy management at B2Gold’s Fekola gold in Mali, Luke Witmer* writes.

Since B2Gold first acquired the Fekola gold mine, located in a remote corner of southwest Mali, exploration studies revealed the deposits to be almost double the initial estimates.

A recent site expansion has just been completed, and while the existing power units provide enough power to support the increase in production, the company sought to reduce its energy costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and increase power reliability.

The addition of a 35 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and 17 MW/15 MWh of energy storage to the existing 64 MW thermal engine plant was decided. This new energy mix is anticipated to save over 13 million litres of fuel, reduce carbon emissions by 39,000 t/y, and generate a payback in just over four years.

Such an elaborate hybrid configuration needs a powerful brain to deliver on all its potential: Wärtsilä’s GEMS, an advanced energy management system, has been set up to control the energy across the fleet of power sources, thermal, renewable, and battery storage. The integration, control, and optimisation capabilities provided by GEMS allow the thermal units to be run at the most efficient rate and enable the battery storage to handle the large load step changes and volatility of the solar PV generation assets.

Integrated hybrid energy solution

In the context of the Fekola mine, which is an off-grid electrical island, the battery is performing a lot of different services simultaneously, including frequency response, voltage support, shifting solar energy, and providing spinning reserves. The energy load is very flat, with a steady consumption rate around 40 MW as the mining equipment is operating consistently, 24/7. However, if an engine trips offline and fails, the battery serves as an emergency backstop. The controls reserve enough battery energy capacity to fill the power gap for the time it takes to get another engine started, and the software inside each inverter enables the battery to respond instantaneously to any frequency deviation.

The reciprocating engines operate most efficiently at 85-90% of their capacity: this is their ‘sweet spot’. But if there is a sudden spike in demand, if a little more power is needed, or if mining equipment is coming online, then another engine needs to be run to meet the extra load.

With the battery providing spinning reserves, the engines can be kept running at their sweet spot, reducing the overall cost per kilowatt hour. Moreover, with the solar plant providing power during the day, three to four engines can be shut down over this period, providing a quiet time to carry out preventive maintenance. This really helps the maintenance cycle, ensuring that the engines operate in a more efficient manner.

Solar PV volatility can be intense. On a bright day with puffy clouds passing by, a solar farm of this size can easily see ramps of 25 MW over a couple of minutes. This requires intelligent controls, dynamically checking the amount of solar that can be let into the grid without causing an issue for the engine loadings or without overloading the battery.

Conducting the orchestra

The GEMS intelligent software provides the optimisation layer that controls all the power sources to ensure that they work together in harmony. The user interface (UI) gives access to all the data and presents it in a user-friendly way. Accessible remotely, all operations are simulated on a digital twin in the cloud to verify the system controls and simulate the most efficient operating scenarios to lower the cost of energy.

This is an important software feature, both during and after commissioning as it allows operators to train on the platform ahead of time and familiarise themselves with the automated controls and dynamic curtailment of renewables. The UI provides the forecast for renewables and the battery charge status at any given moment, it can provide push email or phone notifications for alerts; telling operators when to turn off an engine and when to turn it back on.

The software is constantly analysing the data and running the math to solve the economic dispatch requirements and unit commitment constraints to ensure grid reliability and high engine efficiency. Load forecasting integrates the different trends and patterns that are detectable in historic data as well as satellite based solar forecasting to provide a holistic approach to dispatching power. The Fekola site has a sky imager, or cloud tracking camera with a fisheye lens, that provides solar forecasts for the next half hour in high temporal resolution.

To ensure that operators really understand the platform, and have visibility over the advanced controls, the UI provides probability distributions of the solar forecast. Tracking the forecast errors enables operators to see whether the solar is overproducing or underproducing what the forecast was expecting at the time and provides visibility to the operators on the key performance indicators. This feedback is an important part of the machine/human interface and provides operators with insight if an engine is required to be turned on at short notice.

Automated curtailment enables the optimisation of the system providing a reactivity that people cannot match. By continually monitoring the engine loadings and battery, the system is ready to clamp down on solar if it gets too volatile or exceeds some spinning reserve requirement. For example, if a large, unexpected cloud arrives, the battery is dispatched to fill the gap while the engines ramp up. Once the cloud disappears, however, the engines remain committed to operating for a few hours, and the solar power is transferred to recharge the battery.

Over time, as load patterns shift, the load forecasting algorithm will also be dynamically updating to match the changing realities of the load. As mining equipment hits layers of harder rock, increasing the power load, the system will adjust and dispatch the engines accordingly.

The new gold standard

The Fekola mine project incorporates the largest off-grid hybrid power solution in the world, demonstrating the growing case for clean energy and its sustainable and economic potential for mines in Africa and beyond.

As the cost of batteries and solar panels continues to become more competitive, hybrid solutions are proving to be a realistic and effective means for increasing energy reliability and lowering operating costs in any context, thus freeing up resources to improve the human condition; whether through cheaper materials and gainful employment, or by providing broader access to reliable electricity for healthcare, education, and improved quality of life.

*This piece was written by Luke Witmer, General Manager, Data Science, Wärtsilä Energy Storage and Optimization

B2Gold’s Fekola mine expansion starts up ahead of schedule

Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Precious metals, , , ,

B2Gold Corp has successful commissioned the mill expansion at the Fekola mine, in Mali, to 7.5 Mt/y, around one month ahead of the scheduled completion date of September 30, 2020.

The company has completed all major construction activities associated with the Fekola mill expansion, as well as successful execution of a process performance test to compare with design expectations, it said.

Four days after start-up, a five-day mill performance test was conducted from August 26 to August 30, 2020. The results of the performance test exceeded design in throughput, gold recovery, grind and availability over the period. The minor, outstanding construction work is expected to be completed by mid-September 2020, it said.

The expansion has seen the company expand the mining fleet (adding excavators, trucks, and drill rigs); bolster the mill with cyclone clusters, leach and CIP tanks; and complete a double lift on the tailings storage facility.

This has already had an impact on the mine’s core metrics. In the first half of the year, Fekola produced 311,435 oz of gold, 7% above budget and 39% higher than the first half of 2019.

B2Gold acquired Fekola through a merger with Papillon Resources in October 2014, with the company completing construction of the Fekola mill and commencing ore processing more than three months ahead of the original construction schedule and on budget, in September 2017.

The first gold pour at Fekola took place on October 7, 2017. Within only 60 days from start-up, the mine achieved commercial production on November 30, 2017, one month ahead of the revised schedule and four months ahead of the original schedule.