Tag Archives: Nevada Gold Mines

MSALABS to drive productivity improvements at Nevada Gold Mines complex with new contract

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MSALABS, a global provider of geochemical laboratory services for the exploration and mining sectors, has cemented a major, five-year new contract with Nevada Gold Mines in the US that will see the majority-owned subsidiary of Capital operate a state-of-the-art hybrid laboratory on the gold miner’s behalf. The lab will incorporate both Chrysos PhotonAssay™ technology and traditional fire assay methods as well as full multi-element assaying capabilities.

This represents the largest contract award in MSALABS’s history, anticipated to generate some $140 million over the five-year term, with annual revenues of circa-$30 million once fully operational. Capital expenditure for the project is expected of circa-$7 million in 2024.

Phase one of the project will commence towards the end of the first half of 2024 with the commissioning of two Chrysos PhotonAssay units and a capacity of 80,000 samples per month. Phase two will commence at the end of 2024 with the third Chrysos PhotonAssay unit along with the full geochemical laboratory bringing capacity to 120,000 samples per month as well as associated multi-element testing.

The Nevada Gold Mines contracts represents a significant beachhead for MSA in the US market, entrenching the company’s presence in the Americas, both operationally given the full suite of services across preparation, PhotonAssay, fire assay and multi-element chemistry at a major operation, and also geographically, expanding its footprint in the Americas from its multiple laboratories across Canada and South America, it said.

It also comes alongside Capital’s recently-awarded drilling contract at NGM, which encompasses a wide array of drilling services including underground reverse circulation and diamond, both surface and underground, in addition to Capital announcing former BME and Orica team member Aaron Austin as CEO of the Americas.

Stuart Thomson, MSALABS CEO, said of this contract award: “We are thrilled to have been awarded this material contract, adding to our existing PhotonAssay contracts with Barrick at Bulyanhulu and Kibali. This contract reflects not only the proven advantages of the innovative PhotonAssay technology but also the trusted capabilities of MSALABS across traditional fire assay and multi-element analysis.

“This state-of-the-art hybrid laboratory will be the first of its kind in the USA and, with MSALABS’ holistic approach to laboratory design, will help drive productivity improvements to the Nevada Gold Mines complex.

“These three new PhotonAssay units mark the start of a broader partnership agreement with Barrick Gold, with trials underway for a possible 10 further PhotonAssay units by the end of 2025 across multiple of Barrick’s other operations.”

Capital books ~$35 million drilling services contract with Nevada Gold Mines

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Capital, a leading mining services company, has announced the award of a material drilling contract in Nevada with Nevada Gold Mines and associated rig purchases, together with an update on the ramp up of operations at its Ivindo iron ore contract in Gabon.

The three-year drilling services contract with Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) in the US spans a wide range of drilling services including diamond, both surface and underground, and underground reverse circulation. Drilling spans a number of operations across NGM including underground diamond drilling in the Leeville underground mine within the Carlin complex, underground RC drilling in Carlin and diamond drilling at the Robertson project within the Cortez complex.

NGM is a joint venture between Barrick (61.5% ownership) and Newmont (38.5% ownership), with Barrick as operator. NGM operates three Tier One gold assets: Carlin, Cortez and Turquoise Ridge, consisting of 10 underground mines, 12 open-pit mines and associated facilities.

The contract will consist of nine rigs and will include equipment with advancements in automation for improved safety and efficiency, Capital said.

The contract is expected to generate annualised run rate revenues of circa-$35 million once all the rigs are fully operational from 2025, at margins commensurate with the broader group, Capital said. The company will purchase new rigs with associated equipment for the contract with capital expenditure expected to be circa-$20 million, predominantly falling in 2024.

In Gabon, the company reported that ramp up of operations at its load & haul, crushing and drilling contract with Ivindo Iron SA, majority-owned by Fortescue, was proceeding well.

“We have now commenced drilling operations to assist in further defining this world-class deposit,” Capital said. “The majority of the mining equipment is now in country with operations also already underway, and crushing due to commence later in the year.”

Peter Stokes, Chief Executive Officer of Capital, said: “This new drilling contract award represents a landmark moment for Capital as we extend our geographic reach in drilling into North America, adding to our existing and growing operations in Canada with MSALABS. It is a strong endorsement of our long-standing commitment to world leading standards in both safety and productivity.

“We are pleased to further expand our services with Barrick, having begun our relationship across operations in Africa before extending more globally, first at the Reko Diq mine in Pakistan, earlier this year, and now to the Nevada Gold mines complex in the United States.

“It is also great to see a continuation of our decisive and strategic move to reposition and improve our contract portfolio, set out in the second half of 2022, focusing on large-scale mine sites and Tier-1 projects with significant growth potential. The addition of world-class contracts in 2023 across Reko Diq, Ivindo and now Nevada presents significant further opportunity and a strong platform as we look into 2024.”

Nevada Gold Mines kicks off construction of 200 MWAC TS Solar Facility

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Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) says it is building a 200 MWAC (Megawatt, alternating current) photovoltaic solar facility to accelerate its decarbonisation program in line with Barrick’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Roadmap.

NGM, majority owned and operated by Barrick Gold Corporation, hosted a celebratory groundbreaking ceremony this week, marking the commencement of construction of its TS Solar Facility. The facility is adjacent to NGM’s TS Power Plant near Dunphy, Nevada.

The solar array will be constructed in a single phase with commercial production expected in the June quarter of 2024.

NGM is partnering with three Nevada-based contractors to complete the civil, solar substation and mechanical construction. Domestically-sourced steel piles are arriving on site in preparation for module foundation construction and tracker installation. At peak, the project is expected to employ approximately 250 people.

NGM Executive Managing Director, Peter Richardson, said: “At NGM, we embed the principles of partnership and sustainability into every decision we make. We continually seek opportunities to source materials and labour as close to our projects as possible. The TS Solar Facility is a great example of how we can partner with local resources on a project that not only benefits the environment, but also provides sustainable long-term social and economic benefits.”

Upon completion, the project will supply renewable energy to NGM’s operations and realise 254,000 t of CO2-equivalent emissions reduction per year, according to NGM. This will result in an 8% emission reduction from the company’s 2018 baseline.

NGM has committed to a 20% carbon reduction by 2025, which will be achieved through the TS Solar facility and the modification of NGM’s TS Power Plant, providing the ability to use cleaner burning natural gas as a fuel source.

Barrick is targeting an overall 30% reduction in emissions by 2030 with the goal of achieving net-zero by 2050.

i-80 Gold brings Hatch in to evaluate Lone Tree autoclave restart

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i-80 Gold Corp has awarded the engineering study for restart of the Lone Tree autoclave in Nevada, USA, to Hatch Ltd.

The study will complete a prefeasibility study (PFS) level mechanical and operational review of all aspects necessary for the restart of the company’s autoclave processing facility in northern Nevada.

i-80 acquired the Lone Tree property and associated infrastructure capable of, it says, processing all Nevada ore types from Nevada Gold Mines in 2021. The Lone Tree complex includes an autoclave, floatation circuit, tailings compound and heap leach facility that will become the hub of i-80’s Nevada operations and, it says, provide the platform to realise its future production growth plans of becoming a 500,000 oz/y producer.

The study, combined with an extensive metallurgical program of the mineralisation from the company’s Granite Creek, McCoy-Cove and Ruby Hill projects, will allow management to consider a range of restart opportunities and associated capital costs, it said. In the interim period, i-80 has secured processing agreements with Nevada Gold Mines so that it can commence underground development at Granite Creek, seeing material delivered to Nevada Gold Mines during the second half of 2022.

Matt Gili, President and Chief Operating Officer of i-80, said: “The extensive experience and expertise brought by Hatch Ltd will be one of the crucial elements enabling i-80’s success in re-commissioning and operating Nevada’s newest refractory processing facility.”

Sandvik and Barrick confirm Artisan Z50 trials at Turquoise Ridge gold mine

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Sandvik and Barrick have confirmed the signing of a partnership agreement for trialing and enhancing battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) for underground hard-rock mining.

During a three-year production trial, Sandvik will deploy four Artisan Z50 BEV trucks at the Turquoise Ridge gold mine, part of the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture (JV), Sandvik said. Barrick is the operator of the JV, which is the single-largest gold-producing complex in the world, forecast to produce a total of 3.4-3.65 Moz of gold during 2020.

The announcement follows an acknowledgement of such a deal by President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, Henrik Ager, earlier this month.

The Z50 haul truck, with a 50 t payload capacity, is a ground-up design that seamlessly integrates the most capable and proven battery electric powertrain available in the mining industry with the latest and most coveted features of any haul truck on the market today, according to Sandvik.

It is equipped with AutoSwap, a patented self-swapping system for the Artisan battery pack. This makes battery swapping faster and easier with a minimum amount of manual handling: changing the battery only takes about six minutes, and it can be done in a passing bay or old re-muck bay with no overhead cranes or external infrastructure needed.

In phase 1 trials, the Z50 truck already achieved more than 1,400 hours of production with over 1,400 loads, according to Sandvik. It reached production operation of up to 18 hours per day, with speeds of over 10 km/h observed on the ramp to the tip.

Some of the key performance indicators in the new partnership will include the performance of the BEV technology in a production environment, mechanical availability, average lifecycle cost and overall production cost, Sandvik said.

“We are always looking at ways to improve our performance, both in terms of sustainability and operational efficiency,”  Mark Bristow, Barrick’s President and CEO, said. “This partnership with Sandvik is exciting and will give us first-hand experience in BEV technology in our own production environment. It is a significant step to furthering our BEV strategy across the group.”

Ager added: “I am very pleased that Barrick and Sandvik have teamed up to perform these extensive trials in a daily production environment. It gives us the possibility to prove the performance of our BEV technology.

“The purely battery-powered truck helps to reduce heat and emissions underground, helping mines reach their sustainability targets and reduce ventilation costs. This raises the bar for what is possible and enables an all-new level of production and cost reduction for underground hard rock mines.”

A dedicated site project team will be jointly working with the Barrick operations team during the trial period to ensure that all data is captured and the experience from both Sandvik and Barrick is used to ensure the uptime and productivity targets are met, Sandvik said.

Barrick’s digital transformation moves forward with SAP implementation

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Barrick Gold says its new transactional system, SAP S/4HANA, has gone live at its 61.5%-owned Nevada Gold Mines company and will be rolled out across the entire group during 2021.

The implementation lays one of the key foundations for the group to reap the benefits of becoming truly digital, and will enable a new level of real-time decision making as well as a more agile and business-led approach to systems and data-driven initiatives, Barrick said in its September quarter results.

“The project stayed on track with a very ambitious timeline despite the obvious challenges presented by the pandemic, with the legacy Newmont sites going live on August 1 and the rest of Nevada Gold Mines on October 1,” the company said.

Back in January, SAP confirmed the gold miner had chosen SAP S/4HANA to future-proof its global business and growth ambitions. SAP calls SAP S/4 HANA a “future-ready enterprise resource planning system with built-in intelligent technologies, including AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics”.

Barrick’s Head of Group Systems Integration, Nico Hoffman, says: “By keeping the global design standardised and focused on getting the basics right, we have set up the rest of the implementations for success and paved the way for them to be completed on time.”

Training adopted a new approach, formulated during Barrick’s strategy sessions earlier this year. This involved identifying particularly talented individuals who were added to a pool of ‘super users’ inside the various business functions.

“These users take up ownership of the system by acting as the first line of support for issues as well as by driving continuous incremental improvement of the core application,” Barrick said. “Almost immediately they began delivering refinements and improvements which will be included in future rollouts.”

Hoffman added: “This project demonstrates the value of having both a very clear end goal and the correct level of executive functional sponsorship on board from the very beginning and we look forward to seeing the results of applying this to future developments.”

The SAP rollout coincides with the start of a number of initiatives including a common global data platform, a new financial reporting and planning system, as well as various operational technology enhancements, rationalisations and unifications, Barrick said. “It also signals the end of siloed local customisations which previously stood in the way of one true global solution.”

Barrick to receive three more Artisan Z50 battery-electric trucks, Ager says

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Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology has signed an agreement with Barrick Gold that could see four Artisan Z50 battery-electric trucks deployed at the miner’s majority-owned operations in Nevada, Henrik Ager confirmed this week.

Speaking at Sandvik’s Capital Markets Day on Tuesday, Ager, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology (soon to be President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions), said the company had just signed “a cooperation partnership” with Barrick in relation to the delivery.

“We have one (truck) operating already and have three coming,” he said.

Back in May, a Barrick spokesperson confirmed to IM that an ongoing trial involving a 50-t payload Z50 was expected to be finalised in the June quarter of this year, “with the option to extend, should the KPIs not be met”. The machine was being tested at Turquoise Ridge, a gold mine operated under the Nevada Gold Mines company, owned 61.5% by Barrick and 38.5% by Newmont.

Based on this order, IM assumes the Turquoise Ridge trial was a success.

Alongside this reveal, Ager, talking up the company’s next-generation AutoMine® Concept vehicle recently revealed at the Innovation in Mining event, said the company currently had automation solutions at 59 sites across the mining industry. This compared favourably with solutions at 43 sites 18 months ago, and 19 sites back in 2016.

Mader Group to maintain heavy equipment fleet at Nevada Gold Mines

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Mader Group says it has entered into a contract with Nevada Gold Mines for the provision of heavy equipment maintenance.

The ASX-listed contractor will be responsible for providing skilled labour for mechanical and electrical maintenance, machining, scheduling and planning to Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture between Barrick Gold and Newmont, to ensure the upkeep of heavy mobile equipment operating standards.

The three-year contract will see Mader Group deliver maintenance labour services across Nevada Gold Mines’ eight mine sites, associated infrastructure and processing facilities (all located in Nevada).

Mader Chief Executive, Patrick Conway, commended the team’s track record and growing capability since launching operations in the US.

“This is just one of several key contracts ensuring our continued expansion in the region,” Conway said. “It gives us great pleasure to support Nevada Gold Mines in what is likely to be a fruitful and long-lasting relationship. Forecasting 2.1-2.25 Moz of gold production in 2020, Nevada Gold Mines is expected to account for approximately 30% of total US gold production with optimal fleet performance a critical component in achieving their targets. We look forward to providing a top tier and dependable maintenance service to back their success.”

Nevada Gold Mines adds natural gas to power remit, mulls solar options

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Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) says it has approved the conversion of its TS Coal Power Plant to a dual fuel process, allowing the facility to generate power from natural gas.

This conversion, which will enable the facility to reduce carbon emissions by as much as 50%, is in support of Nevada’s carbon-reduction objectives and is in partnership with Governor Sisolak’s administration, NGM said.

NGM is currently working with the State of Nevada on final permitting to allow construction to begin near the end of 2020, with the goal of final commissioning in the June quarter of 2022.

As part of its overall energy management strategy, NGM is also reviewing the potential for a 200 MW solar facility with battery storage. The intention is to phase construction, initially installing 100 MW that could produce power as early as 2022. A study is currently underway and, once the project is approved, NGM will work with the State of Nevada and the Office of Energy on permitting, it said.

Greg Walker, Executive Managing Director, NGM, said: “Nevada Gold Mines is committed to providing its operations low cost, secure power generation through northeastern Nevada’s power grid now and into the future. The conversion of NGM’s TS Power Plant and the potential for an additional solar power facility illustrates this commitment while reducing the State’s carbon emissions.”

NGM has two power generation facilities in northern Nevada with the TS Power Plant in Dunphy and the Western 102 Power Plant outside of Reno. The TS Power Plant commenced operation in 2008 and has a capacity of 215 MW power generation from its original coal-fired process. The Western 102 Power Plant has a capacity of 115 MW, supplying power from natural gas fired generators and a 1 MW Solar Facility, according to NGM.

El Nino arrives early for Premier, Nevada Gold Mines

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Premier Gold Mines says processing of ore has commenced from the El Nino gold mine at the joint venture South Arturo mine, in Nevada, USA.

South Arturo is located in the Carlin Trend, and is a joint venture between Premier (40%) and Nevada Gold Mines (60%), a joint venture company owned by Barrick Gold and Newmont-Goldcorp with Barrick as the operator.

The El Nino mine was developed on-time and on-budget, with ore now being processed ahead of schedule, according to Premier Gold. Production is expected to ramp up in the second half of 2019, with a first gold bar pour having been held on September 26.

Premier said attributable gold production is estimated to meet the high end of its 5,000-10,000 oz guidance for the year and it expects that, owing to the high-grade ore at El Nino, South Arturo will have a positive effect on cash flow for the company.

Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier, said: “We are excited to once again realise the benefits of South Arturo, increasing the company’s production profile with an anticipated reduction in overall operating costs. Premier continues to benefit from the stellar performance of our partner, Nevada Gold, and its demonstrated ability to consistently execute on schedule.”

In the second half of 2019, surface and underground drilling will resume in an effort to continue delineating and expanding mineralisation at El Nino. El Nino is a high-grade underground deposit situated down plunge of the Phase 2 pit, where mining was concluded in 2017. Pre-stripping of the Phase 1 open-pit project, a second mine being constructed at South Arturo, is ongoing with a target of production in the second half of 2020. Work is also continuing to optimise heap leach material with a potential future decision to proceed with the development of a heap leach facility on the property, the company said.

Surface haulage automation is being tested out at South Arturo, where ASI Mining has successfully completed a proof of concept (POC) utilising five haulage units “that have delivered over 5.5 Mt faster than any other similar POC in the industry”, Barrick Gold said last month.