Tag Archives: Mota-Engil

Fortuna Silver Mines readies for mid-2023 gold pour at Séguéla

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

The initial mining fleet has arrived at Fortuna Silver Mines’ Séguéla gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, ahead of planned commissioning in the June quarter, the company has confirmed.

The overall project is approximately 90% complete as of the end of January and remains on-track and on-budget for first gold pour in mid-2023, the company said.

Among the initial fleet are Cat haul trucks, an excavator, dozer and other ancillary equipment. The company says the next tranche of mining equipment is on-schedule for late-February availability. This includes a Cat 6020B 230 ton (224 t) hydraulic excavator, which is delivered and being assembled on-site; four Cat 777E haul trucks being assembled in Abidjan; one 50 ton excavator for rock-breaker, which has a hammer already on-site; one Cat D9 dozer; and two Cat 988 wheel loaders for crusher feed.

Mota-Engil, the mining contractor, has established its temporary facilities on site to support initial mining activities with construction of the permanent mining services area infrastructure progressing well.

With the completion of construction rapidly approaching, operational readiness has increasingly become the focus in preparation for commissioning of the 3,750 t/d processing plant, which is due to commence early in the June quarter of 2023. As a result of the dedicated efforts of the Séguéla management and site teams, the project is well positioned for this transition, which also represents a significant milestone for the company, it said.

David Whittle, Chief Operating Officer – West Africa, said: “Construction activities are nearing completion despite worldwide supply chain challenges. We are pleased to report commissioning remains on schedule for Q2 (June quarter) 2023. Our operational teams are being assembled with an experienced core leadership group already hired and preparing for first gold production. This will mark a significant milestone for Fortuna with Séguéla also exhibiting growth potential given the quantity of inferred resources and the exploration success on the property to date.”

Séguéla has a nine year mine life in reserves, with the initial six years expected to report 133,000 oz/y of gold production.

Mota-Engil seals Endeavour Mining Lafigué gold project contract

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Portugal-based contract mining firm Mota-Engil says its Africa subsidiary has signed a mining contract for the Lafigué project in Côte d’Ivoire worth some $600 million.

Lafigué is in the north-central part of the country, some 500 km from Abidjan, within the northern end of the Oumé-Fetekro greenstone belt.

Endeavour launched construction ofn its 80%-owned project in October, following completion of a definitive feasibility study that outlined a project able to produce approximately 200,000 oz/y at an all-in sustaining cost of $871/oz over its initial 12.8-year mine life. This featured a six-stage open-pit mine amenable to conventional open-pit, drill and blast mining.

Mining is due to occur in 10-m benches, with double batters to achieve the final 20-m bench heights. Ore mining will occur in three to four flitches, selectively using smaller loading equipment in order to decrease dilution. The study detailed that diesel excavators and trucks will be used for loading and haulage, with a fleet comprising 400-t-class face shovels to load 180-t capacity dump trucks for waste mining, and 200-t-class excavators to load 180-t capacity dump trucks for ore mining.

First gold production is expected early in the September quarter of 2024.

The mining services to be carried out by Mota-Engil under the contract includes mine development, pit dewatering, free digging, drilling, blasting, loading and hauling of ore and waste, it says.

The works are scheduled to start in December 2023 and will have a duration of 60 months.

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.