Tag Archives: Perenti

Gold Fields to trial Caterpillar dual-fuel solution on haul trucks at Tarkwa mine

27th November 2020Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining785C, African Mining Services, battery power, Cat, Caterpillar, DGB, diesel, Dynamic Gas Blending, Ghana, Gold Fields, hydrogen, ICMM, ICSV, IMARC Online, Innovation for Cleaner, International Council on Mining and Metals, LNG, Nick Holland, Perenti, Safer Vehicles, TarkwaDaniel Gleeson

Gold Fields plans to test the use of LNG to power haul trucks in a trial at its Tarkwa open-pit gold mine in Ghana, CEO Nick Holland told attendees of the IMARC Online event this week.

Speaking on a panel reviewing progress of the Innovation for Cleaner, Safer Vehicles (ICSV) initiative – a supply chain collaboration between the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) – Holland said the trial would involve a mix of LNG and diesel fuel at the operation, and four trucks would initially be tested with the fuel combination in 2021.

Gold Fields later confirmed to IM that the trial would take place in the second half of 2021 and involve the use of Caterpillar’s dual-fuel LNG Dynamic Gas Blending (DGB) retrofit system on four of the mine’s Cat 785C 146 t payload dump trucks.

The DGB conversion kits, available on Cat 785C and 793D haul trucks, are a dual-fuel technology that enables miners to substitute diesel fuel with LNG, according to Cat. The use of LNG has been proven to reduce emissions by up to 30%, as well as lower costs by up to 30%, Cat says.

DGB vaporises liquid fuel into natural gas, then replaces diesel fuel with LNG when possible. On average, DGB replaces about 60-65% of diesel with LNG, according to Cat.

Tarkwa, which is 90% owned by Gold Fields, produced 519,000 oz of gold in 2019, 1% lower than the 525,000 oz produced in 2018. It employs Engineers & Planners Co Ltd as mining contractor.

While this trial will potentially lower the company’s carbon emissions – as will Gold Fields’ plan to fit “diesel filters” on all its machines underground in the next 12-18 months – Holland pointed to a much loftier long-term goal during the ICSV panel.

“The challenge to our teams and OEMs is to move away from diesel completely,” he said.

Such a move could see the company employ both battery-powered and hydrogen-powered solutions at its underground mines, he added.

Ausdrill commissions automation-ready Cat MD6250 drill at Boggabri

9th November 2020Automation, Coal technology, Explosives and blasting, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron oreAusdrill, blasthole drilling, Boggabri, Cat MD6250, Cat MineStar, Cat Terrain for drilling, Idemitsu Australia Resources Group, Perenti, WesTracDaniel Gleeson

Ausdrill says it has just commissioned the first of four new Caterpillar MD6250 drills at the Boggabri coal operations in New South Wales, Australia.

The machine has been successfully commissioned on site four weeks ahead of the contract start date, according to the Perenti company, with the help of the WesTrac team at Tomago, NSW.

These M6250 drills come with the next level of drill automation and driller assist, Ausdrill says, including one touch auto levelling and auto drilling functions combined with Cat MineStar Terrain for drilling to improve safety, productivity, reliability and accuracy.

Back in February, Perenti reported its Surface Mining Industry Sector Group had been awarded A$155.5 million ($113 million) in new and extended contracts. This included a three-year contract (with options to extend) for production drilling services with Boggabri Coal Operations (a part of Idemitsu Australia Resources Group) at Boggabri.

The MD6250 is designed for both down-the-hole drilling in hard rock and rotary drilling in softer rock. The blasthole drill carries out single-pass drilling and multi pass, as well as angle drilling, according to Cat.

MACA is currently running an MD6250 at the Bluff coal mine, in Queensland, while AngloGold Ashanti Australia, with support from Flanders and Tropicana Mining Alliance partner, Macmahon Holdings, now has five autonomous Cat MD6250 drill rigs as part of its drilling fleet at the Tropicana gold mine, in Western Australia. Thiess, Cat and WesTrac have also introduced an MD6250 drill rig with autonomous drilling capability at Mount Pleasant, in New South Wales, in a phased 12-month pilot project.

Barminco starts round one of portal development at Barrick Hemlo

23rd September 2020Explosives and blasting, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metalsBarminco, Canada, decline, Hemlo, jumbo, mine development, mine portal, Ontario, Perenti, Sandvik DD421Daniel Gleeson

Barminco says it has mobilised to start the development of the new underground portal at Barrick Gold’s Hemlo gold mine in Ontario, Canada.

The installation of the portal ground support has been completed and a new Sandvik DD421 jumbo is being used to drill the first round of what will be the entrance to the new decline ramp, Barminco said.

It added: “Barminco is proud to be introducing high speed development capabilities at Hemlo, adding value to the already well-established mine.”

Earlier this year, Barminco was issued a letter of intent to provide underground contract mining services at Hemlo following Barrick’s decision to phase out open-pit mining and move to an underground contract mining model at the operation.

Perenti, Barminco’s parent company, said back then that its underground contract mining division would “bring industry-leading technology and productivity to Hemlo in support of Barrick’s goal to modernise and improve the performance of the mine and establish it as a Tier Two asset within its group”.

Barminco, Ausdrill transport Rhino 100 raise borer to Regis’ Rosemont gold mine

21st September 2020Mine operation news, Mine shafts and equipment, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Precious metalsAusdrill, Barminco, Boart Longyear, gold, Goldfields, LF160 FREEDOM Loader, Perenti, raiseborer, Regis Resources, Rosemont, Sandvik, slot raises, TRB-Raise Borers, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

Having become the first company globally to have taken delivery of a mobile raiseboring machine with uphole, downhole, and back reaming capability, Barminco is transporting a Rhino 100 Raise Borer to another client site in Australia.

With the help of its Perenti surface mining partner, Ausdrill, the newest addition was recently transported to Regis Resources’ Rosemont gold mine in Western Australia.

Just last year, Barminco sealed a three-year underground mining services contract with Regis at Rosemont, which has been transitioning from open-pit to underground mining at the operation.

Barminco said: “Through safe and rapid mobilisation, we are able to meet our clients’ needs and transport our equipment across multiple sites to complete a range of drilling campaigns.”

Since April 2019, Barminco’s first Rhino has travelled a combined 15,000 km between four client sites in the Goldfields of Western Australia, drilling a total of 3,843 m.

The Rhino is manufactured by TRB-Raise Borers in Finland but is equipped with Sandvik tools and is distributed by Sandvik. It is a fully mechanised and self-contained electro-hydraulic mobile raiseborer designed for slot raising in underground mining. The latest models also have an optional back reaming module.

In addition to helping transport Barminco’s latest Rhino to Regis’ site, Ausdrill has recently added a new Boart Longyear LF™160 drill rig and FREEDOM™ Loader combination to its diamond drilling fleet.

This rig reduces the crew’s “Hands On Steel” interaction, while improving overall safety standards, Ausdrill said.

When paired with the FL262 FREEDOM Loader, the LF160 combination is ideal for contractors who want to target sophisticated surface drilling exploration contracts that stipulate some of the highest safety standards, without compromising on productivity, Boart Longyear says.

Perenti’s AUMS wins two-year extension at Roxgold’s Yaramoko mine

10th September 2020Mine operation news, Mining services, Precious metalsAfrican Underground Mining Services, AUMS, Bagassi South, Barminco, Burkina Faso, gold, Mark Norwell, Paul Muller, Perenti, Roxgold, Yaramoko, Zone 55 PortalDaniel Gleeson

Perenti subsidiary, African Underground Mining Services (AUMS), has been awarded a contract extension at Roxgold’s Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso.

The contract extension is valued at around A$200 million ($146 million) over two years, from December 2021 to December 2023. It follows on from the existing development and production scope currently being executed, taking the total contracted work-in-hand at Yaramoko to some A$350 million as at the end of August 2020, Perenti said.

AUMS is an operating business unit of Barminco and has been successfully operating at the mine since the development of the Zone 55 portal in 2015. The project, 200 km southwest of Ouagadougou, has now grown to include the Bagassi South mine.

In the June quarter, Yaramoko produced 32,812 oz of gold, according to Roxgold.

Barminco’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said: “The high-grade Yaramoko complex is an important project for Roxgold, Barminco and the people of the Yaramoko community. We are very pleased to extend our contract with Roxgold to December 2023 and look forward to continuing to create enduring value and certainty for our client, employees, shareholders and the people of Yaramoko and Burkina Faso alike.”

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Norwell, said Barminco and AUMS, combined, are a global leader in hard rock underground mining, with this contract extension reinforcing this sector leading position.

Barminco to take on Odysseus nickel mining gig for Western Areas

8th September 2020Base metals, Mineral project development, Mining servicesBarminco, contract mining, Cosmos, Dan Lougher, nickel, Odysseus, Paul Muller, Perenti, Western Areas, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

Perenti’s hard-rock underground miner Barminco has been awarded a development and production contract at Western Areas’ Odysseus mine, in Western Australia.

The contract at Odysseus, part of the Cosmos nickel operation, is valued at around A$200 million ($146 million) over five years and follows on from the earlier rehabilitation works completed by Barminco at the mine.

Western Areas acquired Cosmos in October 2015 and commenced the redevelopment of Odysseus in January 2019. Once in production, Odysseus is expected to produce 14,000-15,000 t/y of nickel concentrate, becoming Western Areas third nickel mine in Western Australia.

Western Areas Managing Director, Dan Lougher, said today (September 8) that excellent progress had been made on the underground and surface infrastructure works at Odysseus, with minimal COVID-19 impacts.

“We have reached a critical milestone with the firing of the full-face development of the Odysseus decline, which is now heading across to the orebody,” he said. “A significant amount of preparation and support work has been delivered across the site to reach this milestone.

“We now have our eye on the delivery of the first ore tonnes mined from underground in the first quarter of financial year 2022.”

Barminco’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said the company was excited to continue its relationship with the Western Areas team, which began in 2005 at the Forrestania mine and has now grown to include the Cosmos nickel operation.

“Odysseus is a significant project to bring on-stream, and the five-year term demonstrates the trust and confidence Western Areas has in Barminco to continuously improve and deliver for them,” he said.

RCT brings ControlMaster automation tech to SEMAFO-owned Siou underground mine

1st April 2020Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metalsAfrican Underground Mining Services, automation, Burkina Faso, Caterpillar, ControlMaster, Guidance Automation, Mana, Perenti, RCT, SiouDaniel Gleeson

OEM-agnostic autonomous solutions specialist RCT says it has executed a project with Perenti-owned African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) at the Siou underground gold mine, in Burkina Faso.

Earlier this year, RCT commissioned its ControlMaster® Guidance Automation technology on two of Siou’s Caterpillar R2900G underground LHDs and supplied two associated Automation Centres.

Siou, owned by SEMAFO, is a gold deposit some 20 km from the Mana mine. Conversion of Siou open pit into underground mining operations began in the September quarter of 2018 with full underground production expected shortly, according to SEMAFO.

Guidance Automation enables the loaders to operate with minimal intervention by machine operators located in the Automation Centres, either on the surface of the mine or in a secure location in the underground mine, RCT said.

“The automation solution improves safety onsite by relocating mine personnel away from the mine face and reducing unplanned maintenance downtime by eliminating machine operator errors,” RCT said.

RCT says its Africa-based staff has provided comprehensive training to machine operators and will continue to provide ongoing after-sales support to AUMS.

West African a month away from first gold pour at Sanbrado

10th March 2020Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Precious metalsAfrican Mining Services, Burkina Faso, Byrnecut, gold, Perenti, Richard Hyde, Sanbrado, West African ResourcesDaniel Gleeson

West African Resources says it has processed the first ore at its Sanbrado gold project in Burkina Faso, putting it on course to produce its inaugural gold product within the next month.

Construction activities have now been completed on all areas of the process plant and tailings storage facility, according to the company.

All four heavy fuel oil generators have been commissioned in the power station and are now operational, while the desorption and gold room circuits are undergoing commissioning in preparation for a maiden gold pour within the next four weeks.

Open-pit mining contractor, African Mining Services, a subsidiary of the Perenti Group, has ramped up mining activities to include both the M5 and M1 South pits, with day and night shifts starting in the past week, West African said.

Currently, over 360,000 t of oxide ore is stockpiled on the run of mine pad at an average grade of 1.5 g/t Au.

Underground development continues to progress on-schedule with mining contractor Byrnecut Offshore, a subsidiary of the Byrnecut Group, having completed the primary ventilation raisebore. The ventilation fan is also currently being installed. First development ore remains on track for late March and first stoping ore is forecast for the September quarter, the company said.

West African Executive Chairman, Richard Hyde, said: “This is a major milestone for West African Resources and testament to the quality of our team and contractors. Commissioning activities will continue over the next four weeks with the first gold pour on track for early Q2 (June quarter) 2020.”

An updated feasibility study on Sanbrado from 2019 envisaged an initial 10-year mine life, including 6.5 years of underground mining, with probable reserves of 1.7 Moz (21.6 Mt at 2.4 g/t gold). The project was expected to have average annual production over the first five years of 217,000 oz gold with all-in sustaining costs of less than $600/oz.

Barminco to start contract mining at Savannah next month

21st February 2020Base metals, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining servicesBarminco, Panoramic Resources, Perenti, SavannahDaniel Gleeson

Less than a month after being named preferred contractor for the Savannah nickel-copper-cobalt project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Perenti’s Barminco has formally been awarded a contract to start work on the Panoramic Resources-owned asset.

Under the circa-A$200 million ($132 million) contract, Barminco will undertake mine development, production, and haulage over a three-year term at the project, with around 170 people expected to be employed.

Barminco says it has been in discussions with Panoramic over recent weeks to develop a mobilisation plan and contract mining of the first stoped ore was expected to commence in early March 2020.

Perenti Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said: “We are pleased to have been formally awarded the contract and look forward to working closely with Panoramic to deliver on this project.”

Perenti’s surface division awarded with A$155.5 million of new contracts

20th February 2020Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining servicesBoggabri coal, Consolidated Minerals, contract mining, Gold Fields St Ives, Granny Smith, Mark Norwell, Perenti, RC drillingDaniel Gleeson

Perenti reports its Surface Mining Industry Sector Group (ISG) has been awarded A$155.5 million ($103 million) in new and extended contracts.

The new work, extensions, and expansion of scope is across 10 projects, with highlights including:

A three-year contract (with options to extend) for production drilling services with Boggabri Coal Operations (a part of Idemitsu Australia Resources Group) at its Boggabri coal mine in New South Wales, Australia;
A three-year contract extension with a major iron ore producer for reverse circulation (RC) and grade control drilling at its Western Australian operations;
A 12-month contract extension with Consolidated Minerals to support current mining operations and regional expansion projects (which has mining operations in Australia and Ghana);
Expansion of services for a major mining contractor in Queensland, which will double the contract value across the current three-year contract duration;
A 12-month extension to existing works at Gold Fields’ St Ives and Granny Smith gold projects, in Western Australia, which involves land and lake rigs for air core, RC and diamond drilling; and
An equipment hire agreement with E&P at Gold Fields’ Damang gold mine in Ghana.

Perenti Group Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said: “We have been targeting a strong pipeline of surface and underground work and I am pleased we continue to convert these opportunities into secured contracts across a range of different projects in both Australia and Africa.

“These latest awards add to $165 million in surface work we announced in December 2019 and the A$200 million contract we recently announced for our Underground ISG.”