Tag Archives: power plant

Orezone makes Bomboré headway with Lycopodium EPCM award

Mineral project development, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, , , , , , , ,

Orezone Gold is moving closer to the construction phase at its 90% owned Bomboré project in Burkina Faso after awarding an EPCM contract for the gold asset, completing a Phase I Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) with nearby communities, and making progress on awarding both mining and power plant Build-Own-Operate contracts.

The company has awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction management contract to Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd, a company, Orezone says, has an excellent track record of delivering projects on time and on budget in West Africa.

When it comes to the Phase 1 RAP, Orezone said all villages and infrastructure have now been completed.

“Relocation of households is proceeding smoothly with relocation substantially complete,” it noted. “This opens access to all areas required for the preparation of the process plant, surface infrastructure, and key mining areas including the off-channel reservoir and tailings storage facility.”

Alongside this work, Orezone has undertaken a competitive tender process for the contract mining agreement at Bomboré, including bidder site visits and a detailed assessment of proposals received.

The company plans to award the open-pit mining contract in early 2021 to allow for contractor mobilisation, site establishment, and commencement of pre-production mining by the end of the March quarter.

Bids for the Build-Own-Operate power plant, meanwhile, have recently been received from companies specialising in providing power solutions in West Africa, Orezone said. The company expects to award this contract in the current quarter.

Orezone’s 2019 feasibility study on Bomboré envisaged a 5.2 Mt/y throughput operation able to produce, on average, 117,760 oz of gold over a 13-year mine life where both oxide and sulphides would be mined and processed.

The company said negotiations for conventional project debt covering a major portion of the initial project construction budget of $153 million were advancing “rapidly and smoothly”, with expectations of binding debt commitments being announced later this month.

As currently planned, first gold is scheduled for early in the September quarter of 2022.

Patrick Downey, President and CEO, said: “Awarding the EPCM contract to Lycopodium is a key step to ensure the continued successful development and construction of the Bomboré project. With more than 12 mines built in West Africa, Lycopodium’s track record of building efficient mines on time and on budget is unparalleled.

“Lycopodium is very familiar with Bomboré, having performed the 2018 Feasibility Study, the 2019 Updated Feasibility Study, and the previously completed front-end engineering and design.”

Downey said Lycopodium will be able to immediately build on its past work and progress the project in a cost effective and timely manner.

Nordgold asks China’s SUMEC to power up Lefa gold mine

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Nordgold Group is looking to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions with the construction of a new 33 MW power plant at its Lefa mine in Guinea.

The gold producer has signed an engineering, procurement and construction agreement with China manufacturing service group SUMEC, a key member of China National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH), to design and construct the plant.

The new heavy fuel oil facility will replace the existing power plant, in turn reducing both fuel consumption for electricity production by 15% and engine oil by 30%, according to Nordgold. This will result in a 17,000 t/y reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the company said, which is in line with Nordgold’s climate change objectives as well as its commitments to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilding company and leading manufacture of heavy industry machinery, is providing the power plant’s main generating equipment.

Nordgold said: “The power plant will enable a significant reduction in operating costs, in addition to enhancing the stability of the electricity supply for over 15 years of Lefa’s life of mine. Moreover, the installation of the latest fire detection systems will increase employee safety.”

The design and construction of the project is expected to cost around $23 million, with the power plant expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

During construction, hundreds of additional jobs will be created and essential construction materials including sand, cement, gravel amongst others will be sourced locally from Guinean suppliers, according to Nordgold.

Nikolai Zelenski, CEO of Nordgold, said: “Even during these challenging times, we remain committed to investing in Guinea. The new power plant is an important investment as it enables us to both decrease greenhouse gas emissions and provide sustainable power generation for our Lefa mine. We are looking forward to working with SUMEC and Hyundai to achieve this project.”

Nordgold acquired the Lefa mine in 2010, with annual gold output almost trebling since, according to the company. The mine, a conventional modern open-pit operation with three major mining areas and several smaller, higher grade satellite pits providing additional ore feed for the mill, produced 189,800 oz of gold in 2019.

Last year, Nord Gold the company did its climate change objectives no harm after entering into an exclusive agreement with Total Eren, an independent power producer specialised in renewable energies, and Africa Energy Management Platform, its strategic development partner, to construct a 13 MW solar photovoltaic power plant for its Bissa and Bouly gold mines in Burkina Faso.