Tag Archives: Mexico

XRT ore sorting stacks up for Almaden Minerals at Ixtaca silver-gold project

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Metallurgy, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining project news, Mining techniques, Precious metals, Water management, , , , , ,

Almaden Minerals is moving forward with plans to introduce X-ray Transmission (XRT) ore sorting to its Ixtaca silver-gold project in Mexico, with the latest economic study showing the technology can boost production and returns.

The Vancouver-based company previously said conventional XRT ore sorting technology could, among other things, push the average annual metal production above the 147,900 oz/y of gold-equivalent production number set in the prefeasibility study.

The latest study, carried out by Moose Mountain Technical Services, has done that, with the conventional open-pit mine slated to produce 173,000 oz of gold-equivalent output at an all-in sustaining cost of $850/oz over an 11-year life.

Initial capital was pegged at $174 million with a post-tax net present value (5% discount) of $310 million based on gold and silver prices of $1,275/oz and $17/oz, respectively.

Almaden said pre-concentration will use XRT ore sorting to produce a total of 48 Mt of mill feed averaging 0.77 g/t Au and 47.9 g/t Ag. This compares with 73.1 Mt of run-of-mine feed averaging 0.59 g/t Au and 36.3 g/t Ag. Test work had previously indicated ore sorting could separate barren or low-grade limestone host rock encountered within the vein swarm from vein and veined material, Almaden said.

This will see product from the secondary crusher screened in to coarse (+20 mm), mid-size (12 to 20 mm), and fine (-12 mm) fractions, Almaden said, adding coarse and mid-size ore would be sorted by an XRT ore sort machine to eject waste rock. Fine ore will bypass the ore sorter and go directly to the mill.

In addition to this measure, the company plans to use an ore control system during mining. This is “planned to provide field control for the loading equipment to selectively mine ore grade material separately from the waste”, Almaden said.

And, its water and waste management plans include the use of dry-stack tailings at the project, which would include co-disposal of waste with filtered tailings, use much less water than traditional slurry facilities, reduce the mine footprint, allow for better dust control and enable earlier rehabilitation of the tailings and waste disposal areas, Almaden said.

Outotec processing expertise and tech on its way to Mexico precious metals project

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Metallurgy, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Water management, , , , , , , , , , ,

Outotec has won a contract for the delivery of a complete minerals processing plant for a precious metals project in Mexico, as part of wider €30 million ($34 million) order.

The company will also deliver process equipment for upgrades of two other sulphide silver ore processes for the same customer.

The total value of the contracts booked in Outotec’s December quarter order intake is approximately €30 million ($34 million), Outotec said.

The scope of the delivery includes the entire process flowsheet of grinding mills, flotation machines, concentrate and tailings thickeners, as well as concentrate filters, automation, and various spares and supervision services for the new precious metals concentrator.

For the upgrade of existing silver processes, Outotec will deliver additional flotation machines and multiple fine grinding equipment for improved recovery.

The deliveries will take place in the end of 2019, Outotec said.

Kimmo Kontola, Head of Outotec’s Minerals Processing Business, said: “We are pleased that we were chosen to deliver our leading technologies and services that enable our customer to improve their profitability in a sustainable way.”

The company was also recently awarded a pressure leaching and solvent extraction technologies for a battery chemicals plant to be built in Sotkamo, Finland. The total order value booked in the December quarter order intake for this contract is some €34 million.

Goldcorp turning tailings into money at Peñasquito Pyrite Leach project

Environmental, Metallurgy, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Precious metals, Water management, , , , , , ,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Torex Gold’s Muckahi Mining System starting to take shape

Automation, Bulk handling, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining techniques, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, , , , ,

Torex Gold has provided an update on its innovative underground Muckahi mining concept, saying the first piece of equipment is due to be shipped to its ELG operating mine in Mexico before the end of the year.

Significant testing of the system, which was factored into the recent preliminary economic assessment on the Media Luna project, was expected to be completed by the end of 2019, the company said.

The Muckahi Mining System is an alternative to established underground mining processes and requires the use of a one-boom jumbo, service platform, mucking machine and tramming conveyor to create a more continuous mining process that can accelerate return on investment, according to Torex. It also significantly reduces the ventilation needs in underground mines by using conveyors as the main transport solution, playing into the mine electrification theme that is gaining traction.

Use of the MMS in the most recent PEA for Media Luna saw the after-tax IRR jump from 27% to 46%.

The key expected benefits of using the MMS over conventional means are:

  • Continuous muck handling system and the elimination of re-handle and storage;
  • All-electric operation and significant reduction in ventilation requirements;
  • Ability to travel on ±30° (58%) slope and major reduction in both permanent and operating development;
  • Ability for bi-direction travel in 4m x 4m tunnel.

Agnico Eagle Mines looks to ore sorting for higher-grade gold-silver feed at Pinos Altos

Comminution of minerals, Metallurgy, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , ,

Agnico Eagle Mines is in the process of installing an ore sorting pilot plant at its Pinos Altos gold-silver operation in Mexico as it looks to improve the feed grade to its processing facilities.

The announcement came in the company’s September quarter financial results, which also mentioned a planned trial of automated underground mining equipment at the La Ronde Zone 5 mine in the Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada.

Agnico said testing of the ore sorter was expected to begin later this month and continue for some six months.

“Over this period, samples will be processed from all the orebodies to determine the merits of implementing the technology in Mexico,” the company said, adding that similar ore sorting pilot testing was being considered at the company’s other operating regions.

Pinos Altos is an open pit and underground operation that produced close to 250,000 oz of gold last year.