Tag Archives: Savannah North

Panoramic, Primero and Barminco get to work on restarting Savannah nickel operation

6th April 2021Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining servicesBarminco, cobalt, contract mining, copper, mineral processing, nickel, NRW Holdings, Panoramic Resources, Perenti, Primero, Savannah, Savannah North, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

Panoramic Resources Ltd, after a 12-month review process, has approved the restart of the Savannah Nickel Operation, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The decision hinges on a 12-year mine life with an average annual production target of 9,072 t of nickel, 4,683 t of copper and 676 t cobalt in concentrate; as well as an offtake agreement with Trafigura that will also see the trading company provide a loan facility of up to A$45 million to cover the A$41 million of upfront capital cost required to restart the mine.

Savannah is set to operate at average site all-in costs of A$6.36/lb of payable nickel, net of copper and cobalt by-product credits and royalty payments. This equates to roughly $4.86/Ib or $10,714/t.

Savannah, with more than A$100 million already invested, has been maintained since the suspension of operations in April 2020 with a view towards operational readiness and project optimisation. This includes the recent completion of the FAR#3 ventilation raise, underground capital development on four mining levels at Savannah North and ancillary capital works on surface and underground infrastructure, which are currently being completed, Panoramic said.

The restart decision has led to divisions of Perenti and NRW Holdings being awarded significant contracts related to the resumption of mining activities.

Barminco, a subsidiary of the Perenti Group, has been awarded a four-year underground mining contract under a binding letter of intent and is scheduled to mobilise to site in July 2021. The contract will be serviced by new underground mining equipment including the use of tele-remote mining equipment, expected to deliver both safety and productivity benefits, Panoramic said.

The contractor was formally awarded the A$200 million contract back in February.

“Based on Barminco’s previous working knowledge at Savannah, opportunities to increase ore production and reduce dilution have also been identified,” the company added, explaining that underground mining is planned to commence in August, with ore to initially be sourced from both the Savannah and the Savannah North deposits.

Following an evaluation of an owner-operator model for the processing plant and a competitive contract tender process, Panoramic has also signed a non-binding letter of intent worth A$35 million with Primero (owned by NRW Holdings), which envisages a three-year agreement. The agreement relates to all processing and maintenance work at the Savannah processing plant, which has been maintained in “excellent condition” during the suspension, Panoramic said.

“A number of opportunities for improved recoveries through enhanced operating practices and minor capital projects have been identified,” the company added. As a result, the non-binding letter of intent with Primero has been structured to incentivise achieving higher than budget recoveries.

Panoramic is working with Primero to complete a binding contract in the coming months, but ore processing is set to restart in November 2021, allowing ore stockpiles to build for around three months (100,000 t) to de-risk ore supply issues.

The process plant at Savannah was commissioned in August 2004 and comprises a single stage crusher, SAG mill, flotation, thickening and filtering stages to produce a bulk nickel, copper, cobalt concentrate. Over the 2004 to 2016 initial operating period, metallurgical recoveries averaged 86-89% for nickel, 94-97% for copper and 89-92% for cobalt. The plant was originally designed for a throughput of 750,000 t/y, but consistently outperformed the design specifications with rates exceeding 1 Mt on an annualised basis, Panoramic said.

First concentrate shipment from the Wyndham Port is targeted for December 2021.

RUC Mining, Barminco keep Panoramic’s Savannah nickel restart plan on track

20th October 2020Base metals, Mine shafts and equipment, Mine ventilation, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining servicesback-reaming, Barminco, cobalt, contract mining, copper, mine development, Mine ventilation, nickel, Panoramic Resources, raiseboring, RUC Mining, Savannah, Savannah North, Victor Rajasooriar, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

Panoramic Resources says underground development at the Savannah nickel project in Western Australia is moving ahead as planned, with both its raisebore contractor and contract miner striving towards the ASX-listed company’s first half 2021 restart goal.

In a progress update, the company said mining contractor, Barminco, had completed the 468 m horizontal underground development drive, connecting with the vertical ventilation shaft to complete Fresh Air Raise (FAR #3) development at Savannah North, in late September.

Since then, specialist raiseboring contractor, RUC Mining, has been setting up the raisebore rig on the surface and installing the reamer head at the 1675 RL, which was developed to intersect into the existing FAR #3 raise.

“This complicated and critical task was completed safely and efficiently as planned,” Panoramic said on October 19. “RUC is tasked with the FAR #3 back-reaming, which commenced over the weekend and expected to be completed in the March 2021 quarter.”

A total of 354 m will be back reamed at a diameter of 3.85 m, according to the company. This is planned to provide sufficient ventilation to support future full-scale mining operations from Savannah North in line with the Mine Plan released in late July.

Managing Director and CEO, Victor Rajasooriar, said: “We now have a firm foundation to recommence underground pre-production development next month, to complete ventilation works for Savannah North and complete areas of capital development to lay further groundwork for a potential restart of operations. This work will be concluded towards the end of the March quarter 2021 and we expect to be in a position where the project is capable of being restarted in the first half of 2021.”

The Savannah Mine Plan outlined a mine life of around 13 years, with the majority of ore sourced from the Savannah North orebody. Average annual production for years 1-12 would be 8,810 t of nickel, 4, 579 t of copper and 659 t of cobalt in concentrate, with all-in costs for these years of $5.27/lb of payable nickel, net of copper and cobalt by-product credits.

Panoramic looks to RCT teleremote solution for quick wins at Savannah North

16th November 2018Automation, Base metals, Communications in mining, IoT, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining softwarecobalt, copper, nickel, Panoramic, RCT, Savannah North, teleremote, Western AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

Panoramic Resources has looked to RCT’s Guidance Automation system to increase productivity at its soon-to-be-producing Savannah North nickel project in Western Australia.

Already familiar with RCT’s Smart Technology – having implemented the company’s teleremote function on its machines at the previously-operating Savannah mine – Panoramic is aware of the safety aspects of the technology and looked towards an upgrade to further drive productivity and profitability, according to RCT.

RCT’s ControlMaster® Guidance Automation, Point-to-Point and G-Dash will soon be installed on the site’s existing CAT R2900 LHDs; allowing operators to safely control the machines from the comfort of an Automation Centre on the site’s surface.

In this instance, RCT will be retrofitting the site’s existing Telecabins, to make use of existing infrastructure.

These cabins will undergo a full refurbishment and be fitted out with the latest control chairs, Laser Guard containment and communication hardware features.

“Guidance Automation and Point-to-Point features will increase productivity by allowing for ‘hot-seat’ during shift changes, significantly reduce unexpected downtime associated with machine damage, and increase overall machine utilisation which will in turn increase profitability,” RCT says.

RCT will also provide specialised training for operators, to make them more self-sufficient on site to further reduce downtime.

Delivery of this project is underway, while Panoramic is due to start mining at Savannah North this quarter.

The project is expected to ramp up to full production over 15 months to a forecast life of mine average annual production rate of 10,800 t of nickel, 6,100 t of copper and 800 t of cobalt metal contained in concentrate.