Tag Archives: Nouveau Monde Graphite

SNC-Lavalin to lead on engineering, procurement for NMG’s graphite plant build

5th November 2019Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Mining servicesBoucher-Lachance Architects, Eric Desaulniers, graphite, Matawinie, NMG, Nouveau Monde Graphite, Quebec, Seneca, SNC-LavalinDaniel Gleeson

Nouveau Monde Graphite has awarded SNC-Lavalin, in partnership with Seneca and Boucher-Lachance Architects, the contract for detailed engineering and procurement services for the construction of its concentrator as part of its Matawinie graphite project, in Quebec, Canada.

Engineering work is already underway to complete priority activities by the end of the December quarter of 2019, including the process review, a Class 2 estimate, and a risk and opportunity assessment to optimise infrastructure design and generate savings, NMG said.

In 2015, Nouveau Monde discovered a graphite deposit on its Matawinie property, located in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, 150 km north of Montréal. It completed a feasibility study in 2018, which revealed strong economics with projected high-quality graphite concentrate production level of 100,000 t/y over a 26-year period.

Eric Desaulniers, President and CEO of Nouveau Monde, said: “With an impressive track record in concentrator design, procurement and project management in Quebec, the selected firms will facilitate the commissioning of commercial operations to supply the market with high-quality graphite.”

The entire project will be carried out in virtual design & construction (VDC), enabling integrated and dynamic modelling of the building information modelling (BIM) engineering for the concentrator, according to NMG.

“This innovative platform will facilitate the transfer from engineering to construction and then to operation,” the company added.

NMG’s master team, part of the management team and composed of senior specialists with several decades of experience each, will act as experts to validate the engineering, the procurement strategy and the technical specifications for the equipment, it said.

The engineering work will also take advantage of process optimisations identified at the Matawinie demonstration plant (pictured), which has been operational for one year. With a few hundred tonnes of graphite concentrate produced to date, the operation has demonstrated exceptional ore quality and a high-performance process to achieve a graphite purity of 97% on average and up to 99% for the largest flakes, according to NMG.

Nouveau Monde leverages this production, which is segregated into several granulometric categories ranging from flakes of more than 0.3 mm (+50 mesh) to the finest products of less than 0.1 mm (-150 mesh), to supply potential customers with samples so they can test the concentrate and confirm their commercial intentions. The demonstration plant will also be the preferred training platform for future Nouveau Monde employees to accelerate the start-up of operations thanks to process knowledge and hands-on experience with similar equipment.

Desaulniers concluded: “Nouveau Monde’s mining project has really taken off in recent months now that we have a solid foundation for our Matawinie graphite project. Our demonstration plant has validated the effectiveness of our treatment process, which is now being optimised by our team of experts in anticipation of the commercial plant. Next year promises more achievements as we complete the design of our operation, reserve key equipment and crystallise our customer base.”

The Electric Mine charges on to Sweden

8th July 2019Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable miningABB, Ali Madiseh, Belaz, Boliden, Caterpillar, CEMI, David Sanguinetti, Doug Morrison, electric mine, Epiroc, Erik Isokangas, future of mining, GE Transportation, Global Mining Guidelines Group, International Mining Events, Kirkland Lake Gold, Marcus Thomson, mine electrification, mining events, Mining3, Newmont Goldcorp, NORCAT, Nouveau Monde Graphite, Sandvik, Siemens, Stockholm, Sweden, The Electric Mine, University of British Columbia, Vale, Volvo CE, WabtecDaniel Gleeson

Following the success of the inaugural Electric Mine event in Toronto, Canada, in April, International Mining Events has wasted no time in confirming the 2020 follow up; this time in Stockholm, Sweden.

Taking place at the Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel on March 19-20, 2020, The Electric Mine 2020 will be even bigger, featuring new case studies from miners implementing electrification projects and presentations from the key OEMs and service suppliers shaping these solutions.

A leading hub in Europe for mining equipment and innovation, Sweden was the obvious choice for the 2020 edition of the event. Miners including Boliden and LKAB have already made electric moves above and below ground, and the north of the country is set to host Europe’s first home-grown gigafactory, the Northvolt Ett lithium-ion battery cell facility.

Sweden and Finland also play host to Europe’s major mining OEMs such as Epiroc, Sandvik, Metso and Outotec (soon to possibly be Metso Outotec Corp), and the Nordic region has a rich mining innovation legacy.

Capacity crowd

The announcement of the 2020 Electric Mine edition comes hot on the heels of a hugely successful debut in Toronto.

With the Radisson Admiral, on Toronto Harbourfront, filled out to capacity, the circa-150 attendees were treated to more than 20 world-class papers from miners Vale, Goldcorp (now Newmont Goldcorp), Kirkland Lake Gold, Boliden and Nouveau Monde Graphite; OEMs Epiroc, Sandvik, Caterpillar, Volvo CE and BELAZ; and equipment and service specialists Siemens, ABB, GE Transportation (a Wabtec company). Presentations from Doug Morrison (CEMI), Marcus Thomson (Norcat), David Sanguinetti (Global Mining Guidelines Group), Erik Isokangas (Mining3) and Ali Madiseh (University of British Columbia), meanwhile, provided the R&D angle delegates were after.

The event was a truly global affair, attracting delegates and exhibitors from Africa, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America, all eager to hear about developments across the sector.

Bigger and better

International Mining Events is upping the ante for 2020, increasing the event capacity to 200 delegates and making plans for a possible site visit to witness electric equipment in action.

Talks from several miners, as well as global international companies, will again underpin the 1.5-day conference program, which will also expand to cover the use of renewable/alternative energy within the field.

There will, again, be opportunities for sponsorship and exhibiting, with several companies already in discussions about booking the prime opportunities for the event.

If you would like to know more about The Electric Mine 2020, please feel free to contact Editorial Director, Paul Moore ([email protected]) or Editor, Dan Gleeson ([email protected]).

In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you in Stockholm!

The Electric Mine conference shifts gear

19th December 2018Base metals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining project news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metalsABB Canada, Adria Manufacture, battery-electric; mining equipment, Caterpillar, CEMI, Energetique Mining Vehicles, GE Transportation, Global Mining Guidelines Group, Goldcorp, Kirkland Lake Gold, MacLean Engineering, MEDATECH, Miller Technology, mine electrification, Mining OEM, Mining3, NORCAT, Nouveau Monde Graphite, Sandvik, Schneider Electric, Siemens, The Electric Mine conference, University of British Columbia, Vale, Volvo Construction EquipmentDaniel Gleeson

With just under four months to go, The Electric Mine conference is charging up to full capacity.

IM has been able to assemble a world-class speaker line-up covering the entire mine electrification process – from R&D and power infrastructure, to battery charging and electrified equipment.

The conference, to take place on April 4-5, 2019, in Toronto, Canada, will host the great and the good in this fast-evolving sector and hear case studies from real mine trials or applications.

This includes a presentation from Kirkland Lake Gold, which is currently running one of the largest in-production underground battery-electric fleets in the industry at its Macassa gold mine in Canada.

Just last month, IM heard that some 33 units were active underground at the deep and high-grade mine in Ontario and Andrew Schinkel, Senior Electrical Engineer of the Macassa Mine Complex, will most likely be able to add to that number, as well as comment on the fleet’s productivity, come conference time.

The soon-to-be-in-production Borden gold project, also in Ontario, will be under the spotlight at the event, with the involved OEMs and mining company collaborating on stage as they have during mine development.

Maarten van Koppen (pictured, left), Senior Project Engineer at Goldcorp Porcupine Mines, Jeff Anderson, Senior Mechanical Designer, MacLean Engineering, and a Sandvik Mining co-speaker (to be confirmed), will present: ‘The Borden Gold Project – lessons learned from the ‘mine of the future’ and the crucial role of partnerships in building an all-electric underground mine’.

The major mining representation does not end there.

Samantha Espley, Director of the Technology & Innovation Centre for Mining and Mineral Processing, Vale Base Metals Operations, will chart the mining company’s roadmap to underground electrification in Sudbury during her talk; expect the OEMs in the room to ask questions about the future fleet for the Creighton deep zone!

Caterpillar’s Product Manager for Underground Technology Solutions, Jay Armburger, is also set to take to the stage at the Radisson Admiral. The focus of his talk will be on heat generation, comparing battery and diesel LHDs underground. A few passing references to the proof of concept R1300G LHD trials it ran not all that long ago at an underground mine in Sudbury, Canada (pictured, right), are likely.

We’ll also hear about developments above ground.

A joint presentation from Karl Trudeau (Nouveau Monde Graphite), Michel Serres (ABB Canada) and David Lyon (MEDATECH) will shed some light on what it will take to create an all-electric open-pit mine able to produce 100,000 t of graphite concentrate at NMG’s Matawinie project in Quebec, Canada.

Those three speakers could be in the front row for Per-Erik Lindström’s talk on The Electric Site project in Sweden.

Lindström, Vice President Global Key Account Management for Volvo Construction Equipment, has seen first hand how battery-electric equipment can move the needle in terms of cost and emissions at the Skanska Vikan Cross quarry, just outside of Gothenburg, and there are more than a few miners interested in the prototype machines (pictured, left) the OEM has manufactured for this purpose.

These presentations will be complemented by a talk from Heather Ednie, Managing Director, Global Mining Guidelines Group, on the second edition of the group’s Battery Electric Vehicle guideline; an opening keynote from Ali G. Madiseh, Canada Research Chair in Advanced Mine Energy Systems, Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, titled: ‘The Electric Mine: a new norm in mine energy systems’; Erik Isokangas, Program Director, Mining3, discussing the value proposition for autonomous electric haulage; and Doug Morrison, President and CEO, Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), looking at electrification to maximise productive capacity.

Meanwhile, Justin Bain, Chief Executive Officer, Energetique (Energy/Mobility), will fly in from Australia to pronounce the death of diesel Down Under – his firm has recently been involved in the conversion of diesel utility vehicles to battery-electric drive.

Along similar lines, Paul Miller, of Miller Technology, will talk about what goes into developing an innovative fully-electric light utility automobile, designed for continuous underground operation.

IM then has two behemoths in the mine power sector, Siemens and Schneider Electric, looking at the all-important infrastructure that goes into electrification.

Dr Bappa Banerjee, General Manager, Mining Equipment, GE Transportation, will look at the electric future for load and haul in his keynote, Mathieu Bouffard, Project Manager, Adria Manufacture, will cover battery charging and power management of battery-electric vehicles, and Don Duval, CEO of NORCAT, will showcase some of the new technologies that have come out of the organisation’s Underground Centre in Sudbury.

This speaker line-up is only set to improve as we move into the New Year, with IM in advanced discussions with more OEMs and miners looking to present.

The first global event on mine electrification continues to charge ahead…

If you’d like to hear more about The Electric Mine conference – including presenting and sponsorship opportunities – please feel free to get in contact with Editorial Director Paul Moore ([email protected]) or Editor Dan Gleeson ([email protected]).

To view the full speaker line-up, venue details and to take advantage of the soon-to-expire Early Bird attendance rate, please visit the event homepage here.

Nouveau Monde produces the goods at graphite concentrate demo plant

18th December 2018Energy minerals, Environmental, High tech minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining project news, Power supply for minesCanada, graphite, graphite concentrate, Karl Trudeau, Matawinie, Nouveau Monde Graphite, Quebec, The Electric Mine, West ZoneDaniel Gleeson

Nouveau Monde Graphite’s latest concentrate results from its Matawinie graphite project in Quebec, Canada, have proven so favourable that it is upping production at its demonstration plant from next year.

The company completed mechanical commissioning of the 3.5 t/h plant, in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, earlier this year, laying out plans to, in the next two years, process a total of 40,000 t of material from the West Zone deposit at Matawinie.

This demo plant factors into the company’s bigger plan to build an all-electric open-pit mining operation at Matawinie able to produce 100,000 t/y of concentrate over 25.5 years.

In the most recent update, Nouveau Monde said, in the 43 non-consecutive hours the plant operated from November 29 to December 5, 140 t of ore from the West Zone deposit, with an average total carbon (Ct) content of 4.5%, was processed. This corresponds to a throughput of approximately 3.3 t/h, close to the 3.5 t/h design throughput.

This saw around 6 t of graphite concentrate produced, of which 5.1 t was bagged for distribution to potential customers. The natural flake graphite concentrate reached an average purity content of 96.6% Ct with a recovery rate achieving 95.3% Ct.

Karl Trudeau, Chief of Operations at Nouveau Monde, said he had never seen such a rapid ramp-up and optimisation of a graphite processing facility.

“This demonstrates the outstanding quality of the West Zone deposit of our Matawinie project. The results shown today clearly exceeded our team’s expectations, especially in the context that we had a very short break-in period. The ore responds very well to the process and its superior quality supports the efficiency of our demonstration plant, which is very encouraging for our future commercial operations.”

The company added: “In view of the promising results of NMG’s graphite production and to follow up on the orders from multiple potential customers, numerous samples have already been shipped and delivered to demonstrate the quality of our products.”

In order to meet this expected demand, the company has decided to modify its operating schedule to achieve a production rate of 3 t/d of graphite concentrate. This increase in production will require that, following the Christmas season, the demo plant will be operating 24 h/d, four days a week.

Having reached its goal of purity for its +150 mesh size concentrate, Nouveau Monde now aims to focus its efforts on the optimisation of the graphite content of the fine flakes.

To achieve this, an investigation to better understand lower grades reported in the -150 mesh category was recently performed. Samples from bagged -150 mesh product have been submitted to a specific assay procedure at NMG’s in-house laboratory in order to obtain additional details on the distribution of graphite within the fine size category.

“Following this investigation, it has been concluded that most of the contamination occurs for particles under 200 mesh size. Possible reasons for the lower grades are non-separated ultrafine particle entrainment at the last steps of flotation or insufficient liberation of the fine flakes,” the company said.

“NMG is working towards further improving the product purity, especially within the fine category, by optimising the various unit operations of the demo plant. For example, the operating parameters of the stirred media mills in the secondary cleaning circuit have not yet undergone a systematic evaluation,” it said.

Nouveau Monde concluded: “Although the company is very pleased with the results presented today, it is confident that actions can be undertaken to further optimise purity and flake size distribution of the graphite concentrate produced in its demo plant while still maintaining very high graphite recovery rates.”

Nouveau Monde Graphite COO Karl Trudeau will discuss the all-electric open-pit mining plan at the company’s Matawinie graphite project at The Electric Mine conference in Toronto in April. He will be joined on stage by ABB Canada’s Michel Serres and MEDATECH’s David Lyon, in a joint presentation titled ‘The NMG journey to the all electric open pit mine: innovation from collaboration’. To learn more about the conference, click here.

Nouveau Monde Graphite’s all-electric Matawinie mine plan stacks up

25th October 2018Automation, Base metals, Bulk handling, Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Environmental, High tech minerals, Industrial minerals, Metallurgy, Mineral exploration, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Steel and iron oreABB, Dopplemayr, DRA, Eric Desaulniers, graphite, IPCC, Karl Trudeau, Matawinie, Medatech Engineering Services, Met-Chem, Nouveau Monde Graphite, Railcon, Task Force Committee, The Electric MineDaniel Gleeson

Quebec, Canada-based Nouveau Monde Graphite’s latest economic study on the West Zone deposit of the Tony Claim Block, part of its Matawinie graphite property, in Saint-Michel-Des-Saints, has shown an all-electric open-pit mine can be built that delivers ample shareholder returns and the reduced carbon footprint the company was after.

The feasibility study builds on a prefeasibility study that envisaged a 52,000 t/y graphite concentrate operation being built for C$179 million ($137 million) for a post-tax internal rate of return of 25.9%.

The latest study has upped the production ante – looking at a 100,000 t/y concentrate operation over 25.5 years – as well as the potential shareholder returns. The feasibility study estimates the mine can be built for C$276 million, can operate at a cash operating cost of C$499/t and bring in a 32.2% after-tax IRR based on a life-of-mine average sales price of $1,730/t.

These results have proven so favourable the company is already set on completing the project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, in addition to starting the engineering, procurement, construction and management phase. This could see the mill constructed in 2020 and production starting in 2022.

Met-Chem, a division of DRA Americas, prepared this latest study, which has fleshed out some of the company’s plans for an all-electric open-pit mine.

“The mine will be using an all-electric, zero-emission mine fleet, consisting of electric battery-driven 36.3-t mining trucks, battery-driven front-end loaders, cable reel excavators and bulldozers, and battery-driven service vehicles,” Nouveau Monde said.

The mine will also use an electric in-pit mobile crusher and overland conveyor system to feed crushed material to the plant, according to the company.

Medatech Engineering Services Ltd and ABB Inc were responsible for developing the technology used in this fleet. The two companies, part of Nouveau Monde’s Task Force Committee for the project, assisted Met-Chem in preparing a fully-electric equipment fleet estimate. This information was then passed onto a mining contractor to establish a technical and commercial proposal for the mine operation on a contractual basis as well as on the basis of a fully-electric equipment fleet, Nouveau Monde said.

Nouveau Monde’s COO, Karl Trudeau previously told IM that Doppelmayr Canada would supply the company with ore handling solutions (RailCon® technology), while a mobile charging station, including fast-charging capability of up to 600 kW, was to be positioned in the pit to charge the trucks and other equipment.

In addition to the eco-friendly nature of the mining fleet, the company has also looked to reduce the footprint of the mine’s infrastructure.

The processing plant and the co-disposal of tailings and waste rock will be located less than 500 m from the mine to minimise truck cycle times and lower the project’s operating costs, while progressive backfilling of waste rock and tailings will take place to “further minimise the project’s environmental footprint”, while allowing site rehabilitation during the operating life of the mine. The mine waste rock and tailings management plan, as well as the water management infrastructure, was designed by SNC-Lavalin.

The flowsheet for the 2.35 Mt/y mine consists of in-pit crushing, followed by multiple steps of grinding and flotation separation circuits. The graphite concentrate is then filtered, dried and classified to recover over 94% of the graphite and produce four products with various flake sizes, all with finished product purity above 97%.

Eric Desaulniers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nouveau Monde, said: “We have designed a state-of-the-art mine that not only maximises efficiency but also aims to be one of the most eco-friendly mines in the world, having a very low carbon footprint relative to our peers. This is a key product differentiator, especially for our electric vehicle manufacturing customers whose environmental and social acceptability values align perfectly with our own.”

Karl Trudeau, Chief Operating Officer, Nouveau Monde Graphite; Michel Serres, VP Mining Solutions North America, ABB Canada and David Lyon, Business Development Manager, MEDATECH will be presenting ‘The NMG journey to the all-electric open-pit mine: innovation from collaboration’ at The Electric Mine conference in Toronto, Canada, on April 4-5, 2019. For more information about the event, please click here.