Tag Archives: Silver

SNC-Lavalin delivering on new strategy with Rochester POA11 project win

Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining project news, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , ,

SNC-Lavalin says it has been awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and overall project management services for the Rochester POA11 project in Nevada, USA, by Coeur Rochester Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coeur Mining.

This phase of the project is estimated to be complete by October 2020, according to the company.

The project is anticipated to include a 20 Mt/y crushing plant, including a primary and secondary crushing circuit as well as a high pressure grinding roll circuit, a 13,750 gpm (52,049 litres per minute) Merrill-Crowe process plant, a new substation with power distribution and new heap leach pad.

Since approval of the initial plan of operation in 1986, the Rochester Mine has undergone periodic mine plan amendments to support mine development projects and continued operations. The mine plan amendment (termed Plan of Operations Amendment Number 11, or simply ‘POA 11’) proposes another mine life extension, which would maintain the current workforce and operate the mine at full production until 2033, SNC-Lavalin said. Coeur says it expects to produce 27,000-33,000 oz of gold and 4-5.5 Moz of silver in 2020.

The Rochester POA11 project is located 160 km northeast of Reno near Lovelock, Nevada. The Rochester mine is an open-pit operation that produces silver and gold. Mining methods include typical open-pit techniques where ore and waste rock are drilled, blasted, crushed, loaded and hauled to either leach pads (ore) or rock disposal sites.

This mining and metallurgy contract win is aligned with the company’s new strategy moving forward towards engineering services and greater growth, SNC-Lavalin said.

The Montreal-based company will provide overall project management services and integrate the engineering performed by various service providers under one set of specifications, procurement policies, standards, systems and procedures, it said. Services will be provided out of its offices in Toronto, Canada, with local support from the Reno, Nevada, branch. This mandate will include additional support such as public consultations, community engagement and working with the local community to address any impacts on the public, housing and accommodations during the project period.

César Inostroza, Senior Vice-President, Mining & Metallurgy, SNC-Lavalin, said: “As a first project with Coeur Mining, we look forward to building a long-term relationship and supporting our client to develop their silver and gold mine in Nevada.

“This mandate is well aligned with our services-based strategy for mining and metallurgy projects. This is one of multiple mining projects we have recently been awarded in the US market, and we see great potential in expanding our capabilities in the region. We look forward to contributing to our client’s project success through our extensive technical and project experience.”

OK Tedi boosts operator safety with new Immersive Technologies collaboration

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Immersive Technologies and OK Tedi have established the first fully-integrated Operator Performance Analytics (OPA) system as part of the Papua New Guinea miner’s focus on operator safety, Immersive says.

Following the successful delivery of continuous improvement projects and managed services by Immersive, OK Tedi opted to establish an OPA installation on-site with the dual goals of improving safety and machine care among their operators, Immersive, which is now part of Komatsu Ltd, said.

Using the OPA electronic operator scorecard, OK Tedi was able to drill down to individual operator performance indicators. These indicators can be used to see how an operator compares with their peers or are trending over time. “Ranking of all operators additionally provides a unique opportunity to motivate personal ownership of safety statistics and performance, while providing management an effective tool to identify training needs to improve overall mine site productivity,” Immersive said.

OPA data can also be filtered specific to machine errors, performance on different machines, performance over time and training history to locate the root cause of a performance trend. An initial dataset was analysed using six months of machine operational data from the field and simulator data, with this data used to identify outlier operators in terms of risk rating or performance against key metrics (such as spot time, average speed loaded and average tonnes per km/h).

Masket Siune, Superintendent Mine Business Improvement & Training OK Tedi, said: “OPA has enabled quicker analysis of mine operator performance to identify trends or patterns to mitigate risk relating to equipment reliability and operator productivity metrics.

“We now have a reliable operator data platform that gives real comprehensive data view to approach our operators and discuss training development needs or for reward and recognition for the outstanding performance based on both risk and productivity criteria.”

With multiple operational data sources integrated within OPA, OK Tedi easily identified a high incidence of high peak frame bias events, therefore prioritising simulator training for those operators contributing the highest error counts, Immersive said. Once underperforming operator groups or individuals are identified, these can be selected and assigned to a training needs analysis report.

Simulator training can then be conducted and training data automatically sent back to OPA —without manual intervention. Typical training scenarios for errors could require operators to navigate loaded trucks over rough road conditions or load and dump using the correct procedure. In turn, this can be used for assessment of training retention and impact.

Alex Da Silva, Global Professional Services Manager at Immersive Technologies, said: “At OK Tedi, analysis that previously took days or weeks, now takes minutes, integrating disparate data systems with simulator generated data provides a single, powerful platform for workforce development planning.”

OK Tedi, which mines copper, gold and silver in the Western province of PNG, plans to extend the use of OPA to additional machines types to further support its operations, according to Immersive.

ABEL to supply HMQ pumps to major LatAm silver mine

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Pump manufacturer ABEL says it recently landed a major order for three HMQ membrane piston pumps to be fitted at one of the largest silver mines in Latin America.

On site, these HMQ pumps (Hydraulic Membrane Quadruplex pumps) are used to transport mine water pumped from a shaft at a depth of 700 m at around 80 bar to the surface into a reservoir.

The HMQs are quadruplex-acting piston diaphragm pumps and manage high flow rates up to 450 m³/h, according to ABEL. They are primarily made for applications like transfer of tailings, mine dewatering and backfilling in mines.

In addition to mining, ABEL’s HMQs are also frequently used in the wastewater industry to transport sludge or feed filter presses.

Glencore Tech draws McArthur River parallels at Ozernoye polymetallic project

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Glencore Technology says it and Hatch are helping the Ozernoye project in Buryatia, Russia, come up with a process flowsheet suited to the complex composition of ore at the polymetallic asset.
The mining and processing operation would produce zinc and lead concentrates.

Ozernoye’s Grigory Koldunov said the company is currently preparing the area for the Ozernoye polymetallic mine and concentrator in the Yeravninsky region, 60 km away from the Sosnovo-Ozerskoye regional centre.

“We’ll start mining works and stripping waste by November. Expected stripping volume by the end of the year will exceed 350 000 m3 of waste,” Koldunov said. In November, the company will begin the construction of temporary roads and a tailings storage facility.

Glencore Technology’s Adam Price said the ore mineralogy at the site was remarkably similar to Glencore’s McArthur River zinc-lead-silver mine, which originally brought about the need to create the IsaMill ultrafine grinding technology (an example pictured) – an innovation that turns 25 this year.

“Ozernoye’s mineralogy is complex, and it’s going to need the right flowsheet to improve the recovery and concentrate quality and therefore ensure the economic viability of the project,” Price said. The fine-grained lead-zinc ore at the Australia operation made for an obvious benchmark, he said.

This year, Ozernoye has been embarking on mining, capital works and construction of infrastructure facilities. Major construction of the plant’s facilities is planned for 2020-2022 and the company plans to reach design capacity of 8 Mt/y in 2024.

In September, Glencore Technology worked with Hatch, AMC and Ozernoye to finish a geotechnical drilling program, test work and analysis. The camp was recommissioned and the company began clearing the site for construction. Capital mine development and drill and blast works have started to provide contractors with structural materials and to begin stripping, according to Glencore Technology.

“But the main challenge with the Ozernoye deposit is the complex composition of the ore,” Glencore Technology said. “The task of the current geotechnical and test work program is to design and develop the flowsheet.”

Glencore’s McArthur River Mine in northern Australia contains a complex ore that remained uneconomical until the IsaMill was created to produce a steep particle size distribution without needing internal screens or closed circuit cyclones, according to Glencore Technology. The horizontal plug-flow design prevented short circuiting and provided for a reliable and easy to operate technology.

The original 1994 IsaMills are still operating at McArthur River Mine, but the IsaMill technology has been refined to occupy a small footprint, very high availability and significant energy efficiency, Glencore Technology says.

Canada Cobalt looks for vertical integration with PolyMet Resources deal

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Canada Cobalt Works has widened its processing options for both its Castle and Beaver projects, in the Cobalt Camp of northern Ontario, Canada, with the acquisition of a permitted and operating mineral and precious metal processing facility.

The company has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of PolyMet Resources Inc, owner of ISO-certified PolyMet Labs and the Cobalt Camp’s only permitted and operating mineral and precious metal processing facility, it said.

The C$650,000 ($491,861) transaction, expected to be made up of cash and shares, provides the company with “multiple immediate and long-term advantages”, it said. This includes a high capacity bullion melting furnace to pour payable silver and gold doré bars. The 23,400 sq.ft (2,174 sq.m) facility has sampling and analytical capabilities and can also host the company’s proprietary Re-2OX Process for environmentally-friendly extraction of cobalt, precious and base metals, it said.

Re-2OX skips the normal smelting process to create battery-grade cobalt sulphate, according to Canada Cobalt Works, with the company earlier this year saying it planned to submit a patent application to protect the technology.

The transaction will see the lab and mineral processing facility become the new headquarters of Canada Cobalt. This facility is located in the town of Cobalt, immediately adjacent to a rail line and just a short distance from the company’s Castle mine and Beaver properties.

The company said: “This well-established sampling and analytical facility, specialising in high-grade mineralisation, provides commercial assaying, crushing, screening, grinding, bulk sampling, upgrading and smelting services all in one location, driving multiple revenue streams at a time when gold prices in Canadian dollars have hit new record highs.”

According to the company, PolyMet has demonstrated that in an eight-hour shift, it can pour up to 10 doré silver bars of 1,000 oz each (90% to 95% fine).

“PolyMet is currently making inroads into the potentially lucrative e-waste business that can be leveraged through Canada Cobalt, its extensive relationships and its Re-2OX Process,” Canada Cobalt said. “Material from mixed computer boards is being processed through the facility’s shredder and ball mill to recover precious and base metals.”

Frank Basa, President and CEO of Canada Cobalt, said: “This deal builds dramatically on Canada Cobalt’s current competitive advantages and opportunities – technological, on the ground and underground – in a rejuvenated silver-cobalt district recognised as the birthplace of Canadian hard-rock mining.

“With such a unique and fully operational facility in the town of Cobalt, so close to the Castle mine and other properties, Canada Cobalt achieves a key goal of becoming a vertically integrated leader in Canada’s silver-cobalt heartland while it also exploits a powerful new cycle in precious metals.”

Gino Chitaroni, Majority Owner of PolyMet Resources, said: “We see some really exciting synergies here. Canada Cobalt’s track record of success in this district made them the perfect fit to take the PolyMet Lab and facility to the next level while I remain involved to assist Canada Cobalt from an operational standpoint.”

He continued: “Bullion pouring, bulk sampling, commercial assaying and e-waste are PolyMet’s four key immediate profit centres that merge with Canada Cobalt, creating powerful new synergies. Hosting Re-2OX and accelerating the development of such a unique and environmentally friendly process at this facility is a major coup for the town of Cobalt and the broader district.”

Alio Gold looks to new loading and hauling equipment for production boost

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Alio Gold has signed lease agreements for the acquisition of new loading and hauling equipment at the Florida Canyon mine, in Nevada, USA.

The fleet is comprised of thirteen 90-t haul trucks and three matched wheel loaders, Alio said.

On top of this, a maintenance and services contract has been signed that provides guaranteed mechanical availability of the new fleet and encompasses all required maintenance activities over the life of the lease agreement, according to the company.

Both agreements are for approximately five years, depending on the actual hours of operation, after which the equipment can be purchased for some $2 million, Alio said, adding that the existing fleet will be retired as the new fleet becomes operational.

“Florida Canyon is well advanced on commissioning the new fleet with four trucks and one loader currently production ready; five additional trucks and one loader are currently on site in various stages of assembly; and the remaining four trucks and loader are due for delivery in October,” the company said.

Alio acquired the Florida Canyon gold mine during a business combination transaction with Rye Patch Gold in 2018. The heap leach operation produced 47,353 oz of gold and 31,993 oz of silver in 2018.

Mark Backens, President and CEO of Alio Gold, said acquiring the new loading and haulage fleet removed the primary cause for the underperformance of the mine.

“With availability now guaranteed, we will be better able to achieve our production objectives,” he said. “Once the fleet is fully operational in November, we expect to see increased ore movement leading to higher gold production and lower cash costs. We look forward to providing the market additional guidance for 2020 once the new equipment is fully operational.”

In addition, Florida Canyon has received all required permits to initiate construction of the second heap leach pad. Contractor mobilisation has commenced, and long lead-time items have been ordered. Construction is expected to take around six months and could be completed in stages to facilitate early placement and leaching of ore.

“Receipt of the construction permit for the second phase of the leach pads is a major milestone for Florida Canyon and positions the company nicely for increased profitable production in 2020,” Backens added.

Telstra lays the groundwork for major underground LTE network at Cannington mine

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Telstra Mining Services has announced a new partnership with South32 for a private 4G LTE network at its Cannington underground silver-lead-zinc mine in northwest Queensland, Australia.

Telstra is now in the pre-deployment stage at Cannington, with the network set to “drive improved safety, automation and mechanisation” at the site and connect staff to vehicles and sensors around the mine at all times, it said.

The underground mine produces about 3 Mt/y and the Cannington team is made up of about 550 full-time employees and up to 300 contractors.

Jeannette McGill, Head of Telstra Mining Services, said: “The high throughput and low latency offered by the system means that staff will be able to control critical equipment without interruption, and South32’s digitalisation strategy will be achievable throughout the mine.”

By adopting 4G LTE underground, the Cannington mine will be able to achieve better operating transparency, condition monitoring and production improvements for staff, machines and other mining systems, driving safety, productivity and efficiency, she added.

Telstra will be building an initial underground network 6.5 km in length using a “private, virtualised core” and LTE radio technologies distributed over leaky feeder cable using LTE-capable bi-directional amplifiers.

McGill said: “Our analysis indicates this to be the most effective solution for underground miners and is capable of adapting to the unique geology and composition of the Cannington mine. It enables access to the latest advances in 4G LTE and NB-IoT, and is also upgradeable to 5G in the future.”

The network being private means it will be a completely standalone mobile network, independent from others, like Telstra’s own public network, she explained. “South32 Cannington will have its own equipment, SIM cards and unique network codes for full autonomy and complete control.”

Providing a modern connectivity platform will allow for more flexible operations as well as scalability and choice in applying various digital solutions, according to Telstra.

“The combination of Ericsson mobile network equipment, Telstra radio spectrum, and leaky feeder solutions from specialist manufacturer METStech provides a unique capability that has made extending LTE underground a more commercially realistic and safer prospect,” McGill explained.

At its full deployment, the Cannington installation will become one of the largest underground mining LTE networks in the world using leaky feeder, according to Telstra.

“We’re excited to help drive South32’s Cannington mine further with this new private network, as it looks to pay dividends to safety, productivity and more,” McGill concluded.

XRF ore sorting shows potential at Yukon zinc project

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X-ray fluorescence (XRF) ore sorting technology has found another fan after Fireweed Zinc reported positive results from preconcentration test work at its Macmillan Pass zinc project in the Yukon of Canada.

Samples from Macmillan Pass’ Boundary Zone, a discrete bulk-tonnage, exploration target 15 km northwest of the Jason zinc-lead-silver deposit, were put through XRF, X-ray transmission, electromagnetic and dense media separation sorting tests by Canada’s Sacré-Davey Engineering at the University of British Columbia, with XRF showing the most promising results, Fireweed said.

The principal results of the 436 rock samples tested in the XRF trials included the potential to upgrade the feed grade from 2.5% Zn to 5% Zn and a rejection rate of 70-50%, with zinc recoveries ranging from 80-85%.

Fireweed pointed out that the analysis in the study assumed that 25% of the feed had fines (-12 mm) which cannot be processed in the ore sorter. As a result of this, the fines would bypass the sorter and combine with the ore sorter product, with the final grade of 5% Zn achieved after combining the ore sorter product with the fines assumed to have a grade of 2.5% Zn.

XRF sorting is currently used at over 50 operations across the world, including Hecla Mining’s San Sebastian mine, in Mexico, and Anglo American’s Mogalakwena mine, in South Africa, according to Fireweed.

Typically, it uses an XRF sensor to distinguish and measure surface metal abundances on rock pieces moving on an enclosed conveyor belt unit. The XRF readings for each individual rock are then analysed by high speed software to distinguish and flag rocks with metal values above and below a set threshold.

At the end of the conveyor belt, focused high pressure air jets or mechanical levers then separate the designated higher-grade rock pieces for processing and reject low grade and waste pieces. The amenability to ore sorting depends on the material characteristics of a deposit.

Fireweed said: “The Boundary Zone samples responded positively to XRF testing because zinc values on the surfaces of individual rock pieces correlate closely with the overall zinc assays of those rocks.”

Fireweed Zinc CEO, Brandon Macdonald, said the ore sorting results imply there is potential to improve the economics of the Macmillan Pass project.

He continued: “These results suggest that we may be able to reject 50% to 70% of low-grade and waste rock at low cost near a potential open-pit operation at Boundary with less than 15% loss of zinc mineralisation before material is transported to a central processing plant at Tom.”

Macdonald said the company has now moved the drill to Boundary to both confirm and step out from historic holes, as well as obtain a 2 t sample to confirm these ore sorting results may be obtained on a larger scale.

“If the larger test is successful, we can then incorporate the benefits of an XRF ore sorting system at Boundary into a revised preliminary economic assessment economic study along with upgraded information from recent drilling at Tom, Jason and End Zones.”

A 2018 preliminary economic assessment at Macmillan Pass showed that a 4,900 t/d operation could be constructed for an initial capital C$404 million ($305.9 million) using starter-pits on the Tom West and Jason Main zones.

This plan would result in average yearly contained-metal production of 85,000 t of zinc, 48,000 t of lead and 2 Moz of silver over an 18-year life, with an after-tax net present value (8% discount) of C$448 million generated.

Cupric Canyon rewards Fluor with Khoemacau copper-silver EPCM contract

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Fluor says it has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract by Cupric Canyon Capital for its Khoemacau copper and silver project in northwest Botswana.

The company booked the undisclosed contract value in the June quarter of 2019, it said.

This announcement follows hot on the heels of the groundbreaking ceremony (pictured) at Khoemacau and Barminco being awarded a five-year underground mining contract at the 3.6 Mt/y Zone 5 mine.

Tony Morgan, President of Fluor’s Mining & Metals business, said the two companies previously worked together on the project’s front-end engineering and design phase to establish a “capital-efficient design and execution plan” for the project. This saw Fluor involved in construction management of the early works for the camp upgrade, bush clearing, transport corridor and surface infrastructure terrace preparation, he added.

Fluor’s EPCM scope includes upgrading the existing copper concentrator plant and new mine surface infrastructure, with the project expected to produce 62,000 t/y of copper and 1.9 Moz of silver with a life of mine in excess of 20 years.

Morgan said: “We will leverage our local capabilities and extensive copper experience to execute the Khoemacau project with excellence – safely, on time, on budget and with quality.”

Fluor has worked in Botswana since the early 2000s and opened an office in Gaborone in 2015. From Gaborone, it delivers safety, cost-competitive innovations and execution excellence to clients, it said.

Barminco ready to mobilise at Khoemacau copper-silver underground project

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Ausdrill’s Barminco subsidiary is proceeding with mobilisation and readiness to commence execution of the Zone 5 underground mine at Cupric Canyon Capital’s Khoemacau copper-silver project in northwest Botswana, the Gaborone-based company said.

Following closing of a finance package for Khoemacau’s 3.6 Mt/y starter project, the contractor is now expected to start work on the underground mine in December. This is part of the five-year, US$560 million underground mining contract the two parties signed last month.

This starter project is expected to involve processing ore from a 91 Mt resource base at a head grade of 2% Cu and 21 g/t Ag. First copper concentrate output is scheduled for the first half of 2021, with annual production averaging 62,000 t of copper and 1.9 Moz of silver for over 20 years.

Cupric noted that early construction activities on the underground project had been taking place since the start of the year.

“There are now more than 700 people on site carrying out construction work including boxcuts for underground access, roads, a water pipeline and terraces for surface infrastructure,” the company said.

To date, some 7.8% of the project capital cost, or $31 million, has been spent on these activities, with around 57% of the costs committed, the company said on July 18.