Tag Archives: mining fleet

Sila Equipement to take on contract mining task at Orezone’s Bomboré gold project

Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , ,

Orezone Gold Corp has selected Sila Equipement ET BTP SA as its open-pit mining contractor for the Bomboré gold project in Burkina Faso.

This follows the January appointment of Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd as the lead EPCM contractor for the project.

Sila, a Burkinabé company, will initially have a contract scope that covers the mining of the Off-Channel Reservoir (OCR) pit, as well as the upfront establishment of mine site services (maintenance workshops, wash bays, warehouse, ablutions and accommodations, offices, and communications), the clearing and grubbing of the OCR footprint including topsoil relocation, as well as pit dewatering and haul road maintenance.

Orezone said mining of the OCR is an important milestone given that the pit will serve as the main water storage facility during operations.

“The mobilisation of Sila will ensure that the OCR and its related infrastructure will be ready well in advance of the onset of the 2022 rainy season,” the company explained.

Orezone says it is working in partnership with Sila to finalise certain key terms under the long-term mining contract.

Patrick Downey, President and CEO, said: “With the project financing now in place, we are rapidly advancing the engineering, procurement, and construction of the project. The early award of the mining contract will allow our project to remain on schedule.

“I am pleased that Sila, a local contractor, has been awarded this work which speaks to the depth and continued growth of the mining service industry in Burkina Faso. The company’s selection of Sila was made after a competitive tender and due diligence process including a review of safety and operational performance in free-dig oxide operations such as Bomboré. Sila has demonstrated an excellent track record in other similar Burkina Faso mining operations.”

He added: “The proposed mining fleet is brand new equipment and will be operated by Sila’s highly experienced senior operations and maintenance team.”

Since the recent appointment of Lycopodium in January as the EPCM contractor, the company says it has rapidly advanced engineering and procurement activities, and made significant progress on refining the project construction timeline. The company’s key procurement and site-based activities in the upcoming months will be focused on the following:

  • Pre-production mining to commence in March 2021;
  • Ball mill order (a critical long lead item) to be placed in March 2021;
  • Award of power plant contract in March 2021; and
  • Site-wide bulk earthworks to commence April 2021.

Martinus wins another Carmichael rail contract with Adani Australia

Coal technology, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

Adani has awarded a plus-A$220 million ($139.3 million) civil construction contract to Martinus to build a critical section of the railway for the Carmichael coal project, in Queensland, Australia.

The contract for the Carmichael Rail Network will see the Australia rail company deliver 86 km of rail formation works, a road over rail bridge, nine waterway bridges, more than 200 culverts and 35 rail crossings.

Late last year, Martinus was awarded the track works component, worth more than A$100 million, to deliver around 210 km of narrow-gauge rail from the Carmichael mine to the existing rail infrastructure.

The transport network underpins the first stage of the 10 Mt/y coal project at Carmichael, which was given the thumbs up to start construction in 2019. It will see a narrow gauge rail network built that connects to existing rail infrastructure and goes from the mine to the Port of Abbot Point. The initial design capacity of this line is for 40 Mt/y, with the ability to further expand, according to Adani.

Martinus CEO and Managing Director, Treaven Martinus, said: “Our focus has been to be the best large-scale railway construction contractor in Australia and being a part of this project enables us to fulfil that vision.”

He added: “Our 600-strong project delivery workforce will be based in Townsville and Rockhampton and partnering with local and other regional Queensland businesses and people, while also upholding the highest standards of project delivery across environmental and safety conditions.”

Adani Mining CEO, Lucas Dow, said the contract with Martinus would deliver some 600 new jobs, which was more important than ever as the local community braces to withstand the economic shifts being brought about by the COVID-19 virus.

“We’re following all advice from Queensland Health and the Federal Government and doing all we can to keep our people and the community safe,” Dow said.

“We also understand how important it is to continue our operations where safe and practicable to provide certainty of employment for our staff and contractors. I want to make it clear that the health and safety of our staff is our first priority, however, where we are able to continue to operate safely and in line with advice, we will do so.”

Dow said the company had implemented measures including social distancing, health screening and increased hygiene in the hope more of its contractors, suppliers and the businesses that depend on the company can also “weather the storm, keeping their doors open, services running, and importantly provide certainty of employment”.

In addition to the Martinus announcement, Adani said assembly of its first mining trucks was now complete, with two heavy vehicles having left Mackay, in Queensland, to make the plus-300 km trip to the Carmichael mine site this week.

These are the first of more than 24 trucks being assembled in Mackay, which is thought to include electric drive Caterpillar 796 AC (327 t) models.

Avesoro and Orkun Group enter open-pit mining contract at Youga

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , ,

Avesoro Resources has made further headway on turning around operations at its Youga gold mine, in Burkina Faso, having entered into an open-pit mining contract with Orkun Group Sarl.

The mining program under the contract, secured by Avesoro’s Burkina Faso subsidaries, Burkina Mining Company SA (BMC) and Netiana Mining Company SA (NMC), is based on the excavation of between 800,000 to 900,000 bank cubic metres (bcm) of material per month, including a minimum of 120,000 t/mth of ore delivered to the run of mine (ROM) pad.

Youga, in the June quarter, saw production fall 19% quarter-on-quarter as falling grades and a stoppage in mining activities during June, which followed a transition to contractor mining, hit the operation.

Over the life of the Youga mine, the contract is based on the excavation of a minimum of 42 million bcm of material (Minimum TMM), which can be increased, at the company’s option, to 60 million bcm on the same terms. The contract price of excavation during this TMM period is $4.26/bcm (around $1.60/t) reducing to $3.75 per bcm thereafter (approximately $1.41 per tonne) for the remainder of the contract.

As part of the deal, Orkun will pay an earn-in fee of $0.51/bcm to acquire BMC’s existing heavy mining equipment fleet. The earn-in fee will be offset against the amounts invoiced by Orkun.

Upon completion of the Minimum TMM, ownership of BMC’s HME fleet will transfer to Orkun. However, Orkun assumes full responsibility for the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of the fleet from commencement of the contract, Avesoro confirmed.

“Orkun has also committed to supplement the existing HME fleet with $5 million of additional equipment at its own cost,” Avesoro said. This includes five excavators, 15 haul trucks and auxiliary equipment to ensure the contracted material movement is achieved. The first batch of this additional HME is due to arrive at Youga early in the September quarter.

BMC and NMC retain responsibility for mining geology, planning and certain other costs, Avesoro said.

Serhan Umurhan, Chief Executive Officer of Avesoro, said: “This contract will enable Avesoro to significantly reduce its future mining costs at Youga. Outsourcing the mining activity will also enable us to reduce our direct employee headcount and overall business complexity thereby reducing G&A costs.

“The responsibility for future fleet maintenance costs has also been transferred to Orkun, thereby significantly reducing the company’s 2019 funding shortfall that was announced on June 10, 2019.

“To achieve the material movement targets set out in the contract, Orkun will also supplement the existing Youga mining fleet…This should ensure a minimum of 120,000 t of ore is delivered to the ROM pad each month and that the Youga processing plant is maintained at full operating capacity.”

B2Gold weighs up in-pit crushing and conveying as Fekola mine expansion economics stack up

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

B2Gold’s plan to expand its Fekola gold mine, in Mali, by 1.5 Mt/y could see an up to $56 million investment in additional excavators, trucks, drills, support equipment and wheel loaders, according to the latest project economic study.

The expansion study preliminary economic analysis showed the company could increase throughput to 7.5 Mt/y, from the current 6 Mt/y base rate, by injecting just under $50 million over a period of some 18 months for processing expansion and upgrades.

As currently envisioned, the processing upgrade would focus on increased ball mill power, with upgrades to other components including a new cyclone classification system, pebble crushers, and additional leach capacity to support the higher throughput and increase operability.

“Critical path items include ball mill motors and the lime slaker, both of which will be commissioned in Q3 (September quarter) 2020,” B2Gold said.

“In parallel with the expansion, B2Gold is studying the addition of a solar power plant, which would reduce operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The current on-site power plant has sufficient capacity to support the expanded processing throughput, with or without the solar plant.”

On top of this, the company would need to invest in its mining fleet.

The current mining fleet consists of four Caterpillar 6020B excavators with haul trucks, drills, and support equipment to match, and mines an average of 36 Mt/y. The Whittle study results currently indicate mining production rates ranging from 54 Mt/y to 76 Mt/y are optimal to support the expanded processing rates over the life of mine and optimise head grade during the period 2020-2024.

B2Gold said: “Increased production will be achieved with the addition of two to four excavators with corresponding trucks, drills, and support equipment. Large front-end loaders would also be included to maintain fleet flexibility.

“Mine fleet expansion timing and scale will be optimised during Q2 (June quarter) 2019 and will generally be equipment loan/lease financed over a five-year period. The study has included $28 million for expansion to 54 Mt/y and an additional $28 million (for a total of $56 million) to go to 76 Mt/y.

“In parallel with the Whittle study, B2Gold is reviewing in-pit crushing and conveying as a means to reduce operating costs and potentially implement tailings and waste co-disposal at the Fekola mine.”

The expansion study estimated optimised that the life of mine could extend into 2030, including significant estimated increases in average annual gold production to over 550,000 oz/y during the five-year period 2020-2024 and over 400,000 oz/y over the life of mine (2019-2030).

This would see an increase in project net present value of approximately $500 million versus the comparable amounts in the company’s latest AIF mineral reserve life of mine model based on a $1,300/oz gold price and a discount rate of 5%.