Tag Archives: Silver

SGS to start offering PhotonAssay analysis in Orange, New South Wales

Mineral exploration, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

SGS is expanding its Chrysos PhotonAssay™ offering, confirming that it will be able to offer analysis using this technology at its Orange laboratory in New South Wales, Australia, from December.

The Orange laboratory was opened in July 2022 with an aim of delivering first class geochemistry testing services to clients across Australia.

Back in 2021, SGS said it was expanding its service delivery in obtaining Chrysos PhotonAssay technology as an alternative to traditional fire assay procedures. The two companies – SGS and Chrysos – reached an agreement to install a PhotonAssay unit at SGS’s Australian Minerals Regional Hub in Perth, Western Australia.

Hitting samples with high-energy X-rays, Chrysos PhotonAssay causes excitation of atomic nuclei allowing rapid and enhanced analysis of gold, silver and complementary elements. Importantly, the non-destructive process allows large samples of up to 500 g to be measured and provides a “true” bulk reading independent of the chemical or physical form of the sample, the companies say. The technology is also measurably safer and more environmentally friendly than previous assay processes, aligning with SGS’s core principle of achieving a better, safer, and more interconnected world, SGS added.

PhotonAssay provides enhanced analysis of gold, silver and complementary elements in as little as two minutes, improving turnaround time, SGS says.

Chrysos said it processed 1.3 million samples in the three-month period to September 30, with 54 currently deployed or contractually-committed PhotonAssay units in total.

Sakatti-FutureSmart Mining

Anglo American highlights next FutureSmart Mining advances at Woodsmith, Sakatti

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Anglo American has provided its latest sustainability performance update, highlighting a number of technological advancements the company is looking to take at its in-development Woodsmith polyhalite mine in the UK and its exploration asset, Sakatti, in Finland.

Anglo American says it has an integrated approach to sustainability in project development, helping secure its ability to deliver responsible long-term growth in future-enabling metals and minerals.

The company is moving towards its goal of carbon neutral operations by 2040, evolving its pathways as it progresses, learns and as technologies develop.

At the end of 2022, its Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 21% below the peak levels of 2019 – a significant reduction that, Anglo American says, reflects its transition to 100% renewable electricity supply across its South America operations, with Australia to follow in 2025.

In southern Africa, it is working in partnership with EDF Renewables to build a 3-5 GW renewable energy ecosystem of wind and solar generation capacity, designed to tackle its largest remaining source of Scope 2 emissions and support energy reliability and grid resilience while catalysing broad socio-economic opportunities.

While Scope 3 emissions reduction is largely dependent on the decarbonisation of Anglo American’s value chains and the steel industry, in particular, it is progressing towards its ambition to halve these emissions by 2040.

Tom McCulley, CEO of Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients business, provided several references to Quellaveco, Anglo American’s most technologically-advanced mine that uses automation, a remote operations centre and high levels of digitalisation, when looking at its FutureSmart Mining™ plans at Woodsmith, a 5 Mt/y operation that could ramp up to 13 Mt/y.

McCulley, who also led development of Quellaveco, said Woodsmith will be developed as a benchmark for sustainable mining. This includes plans for the mine to be a low carbon, low water and low waste operation, with no tailings generation and with a minimum impact design.

“We hope this can show a way of how mining can be done in the future,” McCulley said of this approach at Woodsmith.

When it comes to Sakatti, Alison Atkinson, Projects & Development Director, said the development could end up being “our next greenfield project”.

The project is a rich multi-metal deposit with not only copper, nickel and cobalt resources, but also platinum, palladium, gold and silver.

“High concentrations of metal combined with consistency of the mineralisation between the boreholes make Sakatti a unique deposit,” Anglo American says of the project. Its resources are estimated to be sufficient for mining operations to last more than 20 years.

Atkinson said Sakatti is being designed as the next generation of FutureSmart Mining, building on what it has learned from Quellaveco and Woodsmith, particularly when it comes to ensuring there is minimal surface footprint and “using technology and innovations to deliver even better sustainability outcomes”.

She added: “Sakatti is set to be a remotely operated, low carbon-underground mine with an electric mining fleet using technology and mining methods that will create zero waste and enable high degrees of water recycling, contributing to a sustainable supply of critical minerals.”

The company also sees the potential to use sorting technologies for coarse particle rejection and material recovery opportunities.

Minera Carola bolsters mining fleet with six Sandvik Toro TH663i trucks

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Minera Carola in Chile has agreed to purchase six Toro™ TH663i dump trucks to add to its fleet for its mining operations in the Atacama Region.

This will be part of a total of nine pieces of Sandvik equipment the company is purchasing for its production process.

“For us, the reliability and support that Sandvik gives us is key to our future operations,” Minera Carola said.

Minera Carola is dedicated to the extraction of minerals and production of copper, gold and silver concentrates, with the mineral extracted from the Carola mine and subsequently processed at the Cerrillos plant, where the concentrate is produced, which is then processed at ENAMI’s Hernán Videla Lira smelter.

The TH663i truck’s low weight, 63-tonne payload capacity and high ramp speeds enhance ore transportation efficiency, according to Sandvik, with the reduced weight improving productivity, lowering fuel consumption, minimising tyre wear and reducing overall operating costs.

The truck features a Stage II/Tier 2 engine, offering long engine life time, low fuel consumption and low cost of ownership, the OEM says. When ultra-low sulphur fuel is available, Sandvik offers a Stage V engine as option. Both engines can use EN 15940-compliant renewable paraffinic diesel fuels, reducing exhaust emissions.

It also incorporates cutting-edge technology that enables real-time monitoring, remote operation and data-driven insights. This translates to better decision-making and improved operational efficiency, Sandvik says. With reduced emissions, efficient energy consumption and environmentally conscious design, it also aligns with the industry’s evolving sustainability goals.

Ok Tedi Mining board greenlights mine life extension to 2050

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The Board of Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) has approved in principle a further mine life extension from 2033 to 2050, marking a significant milestone for OTML, its shareholders and for Papua New Guinea (PNG) in general.

It is also a sign of the confidence the board has in the company’s ability to deliver over the next two decades.

The approval is based on the latest Strategic Business Plan submitted by the Executive Leadership Team and discussed during the OTML Board meeting held in Tabubil on September 13, 2023.

“This extension brings to life OTML’s vision to operate with excellence, maximising the value of the mineral resource in an environmentally friendly way, to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits to the mine communities and the people of PNG,” The company said. “Several factors have enabled the extension including a strengthened long-term copper price outlook, additional mine waste management solutions such as engineered waste rock dumps and a tailings storage facility to minimise impact on the environment, renewal of aged processing plant assets and implementation of other strategic projects that are currently in various stages of completion.”

The Ok Tedi mine is an open-pit copper, gold and silver mine located at Mt. Fubilan in the Western Province of PNG. Up to 240,000 t/d of overburden is mined from a pit covering about 2.6 sq.km. In addition, about 60,000 t/d of ore is mined and delivered to the mill for processing.

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Kedi Ilimbit, said “The approval by the board on the eve of PNG’s 48th Independence anniversary is a welcomed gift to the communities in which we operate and who provide us the social licence to continue, as well as to the people of PNG. The revised mine life will see the company generate in excess of PGK30 billion ($8.25 billion) in dividends, royalties, compensation payments and taxes for the benefit of OTML’s shareholders, communities and Papua New Guinea as a whole over the next 27 years.”

Foran Mining drafts in G Mining Services for McIlvenna Bay project build

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Foran Mining has selected G Mining Services (GMS) as its partner in the formation of the integrated project management team (IPMT) for construction of its 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay Complex in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Founded in 2006, GMS is a mining consultancy firm excelling in both underground and open-pit mining and processing projects, including operations in Canada. It has a range of services spanning greenfield projects to mine operation, with notable work carried out on Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador, Newmont Mining’s Merian Mine in Suriname, the Greenstone project in Ontario and the Tocantinzinho project in Brazil.

Foran says GMS has achieved a remarkable 100% success rate in delivering projects on or below budget.

Dan Myerson, Foran’s Executive Chairman & CEO, said: “G Mining Services is the ideal partner to deliver the McIlvenna Bay Complex into production and unlock this meaningful critical minerals district. GMS’ unique and innovative IPMT model enables a harmoniously aligned construction team seamlessly transitioning into an operating team, which is critical to success. Integrating GMS within our ranks provides the support and accountability needed in delivering safe, on-budget, and on-schedule mine construction. Their expertise, unwavering commitment to safety, and dedication to timely and fiscally prudent project delivery are expected to play an instrumental role into McIlvenna Bay’s development.”

Mathieu Gignac, President of G Mining, added: “We consider ourselves fortunate to partner on projects that align with our expertise and with people who align with our values. The opportunity to work with Foran, be an integral part of their team and contribute to the development of McIlvenna Bay brings us great excitement, particularly as McIlvenna Bay becomes Saskatchewan’s pioneering base and precious metals project. Our involvement not only emphasises our commitment to delivering excellence but also highlights our role in bolstering Canada’s critical minerals sector.”

In line with this transition, Gilbert Lamarche, previously Vice President, Technical Services, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer. David Bernier, former COO, will continue to play a role within the company, leveraging his contributions in de-risking, building and growing the project and advancing key strategic initiatives, the company says. Sam Renelli has been promoted from Operational Readiness Manager to the position of Vice President, Technical Services.

The 2022 feasibility study on McIlvenna Bay outlined a 4,200 t/d operation over an 18.4-year mine life, able to produce an average annual production of 33,000 t of copper-equivalent output over the first 15 years of mine life. By individual metal, this equates to 17,600 t of copper, 28,900 t of zinc, 20,000 oz of gold and 486,000 oz of silver.

Rajant and STRACONTech boost network coverage at Hudbay’s Constancia mine

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Rajant Corporation, the pioneer of Kinetic Mesh® wireless networks, and STRACONTech, a Kinetic Mesh Partner in Lima, Peru, say they have increased bandwidth and improved networking coverage at the Constancia mine in Peru, a project owned by Hudbay Minerals.

After reviewing options, the mine selected to invest in Rajant’s solution for mobility, which allows an almost “plug-and-play” integration with the mine’s existing LTE network, Rajant said. Eduardo Rojas, IT Manager at Hudbay, said: “Our mining operation needed a better design for its haulage and loading fleet. With the Rajant hybrid solution, we now have a significant increase in bandwidth, which will allow us to be more efficient.”

With the Rajant Peregrine LTE BreadCrumb®, the mine obtained a four times performance improvement, going from a limit of 10 Mb/s with LTE up to 40 Mb/s.

The Rajant Peregrine LTE allows connectivity on multiple frequencies simultaneously, including LTE. This improves operations so connectivity is not lost with the mining fleet even when interference exists on the 2.4 GHz, 5 Ghz, or LTE band, Rajant says.

Rajant Vice President of Sales (Americas/APAC), Sagar Chandra, added: “All mining operations want reliable and scalable connectivity. We successfully improved the performance of the installed LTE network using the Peregrine LTE, which offers the unique benefit of Kinetic Mesh and direct machine-to-machine connectivity.”

Rajant and STRACONTech teams started with a proof of concept, resulting in a larger phased installation, delivering improved performance.

STRACONTech’s team explains: “We measured 30-32 Mb/s at 1 km while the mine’s LTE had a ceiling of 10 Mb/s. We solved the challenge they had. Moreover, the investment in the Peregrine LTE was a one-time cost for the mine without recurring annual software or maintenance costs, saving them long-term.”

Hudbay’s Constancia mine produced 89,395 t of copper, 58,229 oz of gold and 2.3 Moz of silver in 2022.

GlencoreTech-AtlanticCopper

Freeport’s Atlantic Copper enlists Glencore Technology’s ISACYLE solution for waste recovery project

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Glencore Technology is to help Atlantic Copper, owned by Freeport-McMoRan, to create the first waste recovery plant for metal fractions of e-material in southern Europe.

The ‘CirCular’ project will feature Glencore Technology’s ISACYLE™ technology to process 60,000 t/y of e-material, and is expected to be operational in the March quarter of 2025.

According to Atlantic Copper, the works will begin in September. The company is investing €310 million ($345 million) in the project, which will move Spain from a recycling rate of 50% to 100% of electronic material, Glencore Technology says.

The ISACYCLE-based project will recover, among other metals, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, tin and nickel from what Atlantic Copper describe as waste electrical and electronic equipment or WEEE.

In 2019, Spain generated around 890,000 t of WEEE, of which only around 370,000 t were managed by authorised recyclers. The other 520,000 t of disused electrical and electronic equipment are stored in homes, end up in landfills or are exported to countries where the metals might be recovered in an environmentally unfriendly way, Glencore Technology says.

Atlantic Copper, Spain’s leading copper producer, will use ISACYCLE technology to divert that kind of waste from landfill and instead recover significant value from it.

The CirCular project is aligned with Sustainable Development Goals and with the EU’s Green Deal and the Plan of Reconstruction, as copper is among the key raw materials that Europe will need to achieve that goal of a sustainable, environmentally neutral economy.

Glencore Technology’s Manager for Pyrometallurgy and Hydrometallurgy, Dr Stanko Nikolic, said the project is expected to be the first of many to use the company’s ISACYLE technology, which is a direct evolution from its ISASMELT™ technology.

“ISACYCLE has been purposefully evolved and proven to take residual waste, including e-waste, and transform it into saleable commodities,” he said. “It’s a very scalable technology. This is a project featuring a plant toward the larger scale. But it is also a technology that works in a small scale, ideal for urban utilities and waste processing companies.”

Nikolic said the ISACYCLE technology, on any scale, can virtually eliminate landfill and instead produce recovered metals, a safe slag that can be used as a construction product, energy and clean offgas.

He concluded: “We’re proud to be able to work with such an innovative company as Atlantic Copper. They’re building a major milestone for the region and what will become a showcase for others.”

Record Rokion battery-electric vehicle order set for Torex Gold’s Media Luna

Base metals, Environmental, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Torex Gold’s Media Luna project in Mexico has been behind a surge of battery-electric vehicle contract activity of late, with the latest recipient being Saskatoon-based Rokion.

The gold mining company has ordered a 28-strong fleet of BEVs from Rokion, set to start being delivered at the back end of the year.

These vehicles will be crucial in providing zero emission and effective personnel transport and production support functions at the project, which is set to extend the life of mine of its El Limón Guajes (ELG) Complex through at least 2033.

Media Luna is located 7 km south of the existing ELG Complex comprised of the El Limón, Guajes and El Limón Sur open pits, El Limón Guajes underground mine, plus the processing plant and related infrastructure. It is an underground deposit primarily containing gold, copper and silver mineralisation, separated from the ELG Complex by the Balsas River.

The underground mine is designed for an average production capacity of 7,500 t/d, predominately using a mining method of longhole stoping with paste backfill, supplemented by mechanised cut and fill stoping where appropriate. It will be a fully mechanised operation with the primary access to the mine via the Guajes Tunnel, which, itself, will have a length of approximately 6.5 km, creating an underground connection between the ELG Complex and the Media Luna mine. The ELG site will continue to serve as the base of mine operations, with all production levels accessible from the internal mine ramp.

Torex expects to bring Media Luna into commercial production in early 2025, ramping up to 7,500 t/d by 2027 and creating one of Mexico’s largest underground mines. It contains reserves of approximately 2.1 Moz gold, 18.9 Moz silver and 444 Mlb copper.

As of March 31, 2023, physical progress on the project was approximately 24%, according to Torex, with detailed engineering, procurement activities, underground development and surface construction advancing. The project continued to track to overall schedule and budget, the company noted.

Equipment deliveries will be key in advancing the project in line with the schedule and, earlier this year, both Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions and MacLean announced sizeable equipment orders – both battery- and diesel-powered – related to the mine’s development and production phases.

Now, IM can reveal that Torex has also sealed an agreement with Rokion.

Rokion are to supply 27 of its battery-powered utility trucks to the operation along with one R700 forklift – the latter representing the company’s first order for a battery-powered forklift.

According to Rokion, these trucks can navigate mine sites with 20% grade at a full gross vehicle weight and full speed while traveling more than 70 km per charge. This is more than enough to get through a full shift without charging. And, while availability is a key selling point, Rokion says its battery-powered vehicles have been designed for simple and easy maintenance. The modularity of the components are “ideal for remote mining locations where the priority is to have dedicated service personnel with expertise in production mining equipment”.

When it comes to vehicle specifics, Rokion outlined that Torex would receive 10 R200 battery-powered trucks – configured to carry up to five passengers – two R200 trucks set up as two-passenger surveyor utility vehicles, two R200 two-person “6×6 Surveyor” utility vehicles and four R200 two-person “6×6 Electrician” utility vehicles. This would be complemented by seven R400 vehicles fitted out to carry 12 passengers – which have four-wheel steering to greatly improve manouevrability, according to Rokion – and two R400s equipped for three passengers able to carry out mechanic duties.

The Rokion order from Torex for Media Luna includes 16 of the company’s R200 battery-electric vehicles

Gertjan Bekkers, Vice-President, Mines Technical Services with Torex, said: “Our light-vehicle fleet will be used to drive fairly significant distances between our work sites on every shift, so the flexibility and range of these vehicles were key considerations for Torex during the procurement phase. The tunnel connecting Media Luna with ELG is like our horizontal shaft, connecting to the internal ramp of the Media Luna mine. Of course, we’ve also carefully considered equipment reliability and we were particularly impressed by the enhancements that Rokion has made to their portfolio since entering the underground hard-rock mining market.”

Kipp Sakundiak, CEO of Rokion, said the two companies have struck up a very important partnership over the last year or so when the engagement began.

“After getting to know the team at Torex, we are excited about the opportunities,” he told IM. “It is a good thing when you have a vendor-supplier relationship whereby both companies share similar values.”

Deliveries of the vehicles will start in October, with the full fleet set to be in place in 2025, according to Sakundiak.

AngloGold eyes autonomous haulage advantages at Nevada project

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AngloGold Ashanti says it is considering the use of autonomous haulage at its Expanded Silicon project, in Nevada, USA, as part of plans to leverage new technology at the in-development asset.

Speaking on a roundtable discussion titled ‘Beyond the hype: how technology can drive mining operations performance’ organised by global subsurface software company Seequent, Marcelo Godoy, Chief Technology Officer at AngloGold Ashanti, said the company was studying the application of autonomous haulage to optimise efficiency and reduce risks at its projects in Nevada.

Discussing automation and robotics as one of three transformational technologies the company is looking to leverage to achieve its net-zero emissions goals by 2050 – electric vehicles and renewable technologies being the other two – Godoy said he saw robots running key production activities at the company’s mines by the time they reach net-zero emission status.

AngloGold has been leveraging automation in its drilling operations, with Godoy noting on the roundtable that the company was seeing improvements in terms of efficiency, precision and safety.

“We also make extensive use of semi-autonomous LHDs in our underground mines, and we are studying the application of autonomous haulage vehicles to optimise efficiency and reduce risks in our projects in Nevada,” he said.

Asked to expand on this by IM after the roundtable, he said: “Our Nevada projects are conceptualised as open-pit mining operations and, at this point, we are only looking at autonomous haulage.

“As far as I know, there is no proven and off-the-shelf autonomous loading technology that could successfully work in the hard-rock environments where we operate. Autonomous loading is still an ongoing technological development and I expect that it will become prevalent in the mining industry before the end of this decade.”

He added that the option of autonomous haulage is being considered at the company’s Expanded Silicon project, which builds off AngloGold’s discovery of the Silicon gold deposit in the Beatty District of Nevada.

In 2022, the company outlined a maiden inferred resource estimate of 3.37 Moz of gold at a grade of 0.87 g/t Au and 14.17 Moz of silver at 3.66 g/t Ag contained within a base of 120.4 Mt. A prefeasibility study is being worked on currently.

Appian Capital to take on Rosh Pinah zinc-lead mine in Namibia

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Appian Capital Advisory LLP, the investment advisor to long-term value-focused private capital funds that invest in mining and mining-related companies, has acquired an 89.96% interest in the producing Rosh Pinah zinc mine, in the Kharas region in southern Namibia, from Trevali Mining Corporation.

Rosh Pinah is an operating underground zinc-lead mine with a 2,000 t/d milling operation, which has plans in place – via the Rosh Pinah 2.0 mine expansion project – to nearly double the mine’s annual ore throughput to 1.3 Mt and improve safety and environmental performance. The mine has been in continuous operation since 1969, producing zinc and lead sulphide concentrates, as well as smaller amounts of copper, silver and gold.

Appian says it will retain the existing site management team and workforce, who have substantive technical expertise and understanding of the asset.

Michael W Scherb, founder and CEO of Appian, said: “This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Appian as we continue to develop our world-class portfolio of highly attractive zinc assets, a critical metal that will help facilitate the upcoming energy transition. We look forward to welcoming the 450 employees at Rosh Pinah to Appian as we utilise our extensive operational and project development expertise to support the existing management team with delivering the Rosh Pinah 2.0 expansion project. We extend our gratitude to the Namibian government, our valued partners, and the local community for their trust and support.”

The Rosh Pinah 2.0 expansion project envisages the construction of new processing facilities, including the addition of a paste fill and water treatment plant, as well as a dedicated portal and decline to extended deposits. The project will increase mill throughput from 700,000 t/y to 1.3 Mt/y, increasing zinc equivalent production to 170 MIb/y (31,751 t/y), on average.

Trevali, the former 89.96% owner of Rosh Pinah, said previously that the expansion could also lead to the introduction of battery-electric vehicles at the mine.

Rosh Pinah is one of three recent investments by Appian in the zinc market, with the other two being Vedra Metals in Italy and Pine Point in Canada. It did not disclose the acquisition price for the stake in Rosh Pinah.