Tag Archives: Windfall

Gold Fields to up the renewable ante at St Ives with A$296 million investment

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The Board of Gold Fields Limited has approved the go-ahead for a A$296 million ($195 million) renewables project at the St Ives mine, in Western Australia, in a move that could boost the operation’s renewable input to over 70%.

The project will comprise:

  • 42 MW of wind power delivered via seven wind turbines;
  • 35 MW of solar power delivered via 60,000 solar panels;
  • A 33 kV renewable energy hub substation; and
  • A 132 kV transmission line.

The project, the largest in the Gold Fields portfolio to date, will provide 73% of the mines electricity requirements and is planned to commence construction in May 2024 and will be operational by the end of 2025.

While previous renewables projects of this nature were built and managed by independent power producers, the St Ives project will be built by Gold Fields, the company stated.

Six out of Gold Fields’ 10 mines and projects are already powered partially by renewable electricity, and, in addition to the St Ives project, the company is studying additional renewable energy projects to meet the company’s decarbonisation commitments.

In 2023, renewable electricity accounted for 17% of electricity consumption across the Gold Fields business, compared with 13% a year earlier, leading to a 5% decline in carbon emissions during the year, the company said. Renewables provided 50% of electricity consumed at the Agnew mine in Australia and 15% of South Deep’s electricity consumption. The Cerro Corona mine in Peru is fully supplied by hydroelectricity, which is classified as 100% renewable. The Windfall project in Canada (which is a 50:50 joint venture between Gold Fields and Osisko Mining) is also supplied by hydroelectricity.

Once operational, the St Ives project will boost renewable energy in Gold Fields’ electricity mix further to approximately 24% and will contribute markedly to achieving the group’s 2030 target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by a net 30% against its 2016 baseline. St Ives itself will reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by approximately 50% by 2030. Gold Fields has also committed to Net Zero by 2050.

“The St Ives renewables project is a clear and tangible signal to our stakeholders of our decarbonisation commitments,” Gold Fields CEO, Mike Fraser, said. “Investing in renewables has obvious environmental benefits, but it also provides the business with cheaper electricity and offers an enhanced level of energy supply security.”

The St Ives renewables project will reduce electricity costs to a third of the previously projected costs by 2025.

The project has received the required approvals from Traditional Owners of the land, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Western Australian Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.

Gold Fields has also advanced plans on other key renewables projects in its portfolio, which include:

  • A 11 MW expansion to the current 8 MW solar plant at its Granny Smith mine in Australia;
  • A 7.7 MW photovoltaic solar plant at the Salares Norte mine in Chile to be added to the current diesel generator sets about a year after first gold production. The project has already received the required environmental approvals; and
  • Adding up to six wind turbines to provide approximately 40 MW of power to the South Deep mine in South Africa. This project is currently in feasibility phase and awaiting final environmental approval.

Fraser added: “All our operations continue to investigate the possibility of adding further renewable electricity sources where it makes technical and economic sense to do so. We are also exploring the most capital efficient ways to fund these projects as part of our disciplined capital allocation. Gold Fields is committed to playing its part in mitigating the impact climate change is having on the world.”

CFNW to connect Osisko Mining’s Windfall site to hydro power

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Osisko Mining Inc has signed a binding term sheet with Miyuukaa Corp, a wholly-owned corporation of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi (CFNW), with respect to the construction of proposed transmission facilities and the transport of hydroelectric power to the Windfall project, in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Québec, Canada.

The agreement will see Miyuukaa finance, build, own and operate a 69 kV dedicated transmission line that will transport hydroelectricity to the Windfall project. The power line from the Waswanipi substation to Windfall minimises the environmental footprint and is located 100% on CFNW traditional lands covered by the James Bay Northern Québec Agreement, according to Osisko.

As an end user, Osisko will pay service fees to Miyuukaa. The binding term sheet outlines the general and financial terms of the agreement between Osisko and Miyuukaa, which is for the purpose of ensuring delivery of hydroelectricity over the life of the planned Windfall mill as required. Terms will be further outlined in a definitive agreement to be entered into between Osisko and Miyuukaa, which is expected to be completed in the coming month.

Last month, Osisko released a definitive feasibility study on Windfall that outlined a 3,400 t/d milling operation able to produce an average of 294,234 oz/y of gold over the life of mine.

This agreement wutg CFNW solidifies the collaborative approach between Osisko and the CFNW to sustainably develop energy infrastructure, which will create robust employment opportunities for members of the CFNW, Osisko said. Using hydroelectric power through the final stages of exploration and throughout the planned construction and operations phases will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the Windfall project’s dependency on fossil fuels.

Work is expected to commence in January on existing access roads, in preparation for brush clearing and construction of the transmission line, while awaiting permitting. The work is projected to take 12 months to complete, with the hook-up date anticipated in the first half of 2024.

Osisko’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, John Burzynski, said: “We are proud to announce today’s landmark agreement with Miyuukaa, and to begin preparations for work on the line which will deliver hydroelectricity to Windfall. The advent of power at Windfall will allow us to move away from diesel-generated electricity for our exploration activities. Hydroelectric power availability for the anticipated construction of the Windfall Mine will make a significant difference in both the cost and environmental impact of our future planned activities.”

Irene Neeposh, Chief of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi, said: “The Cree First Nation of Waswanipi will always prioritise the protection of its territory and of the traditional way of life of its
members but this does not prevent us from also participating in the economic development of our land. Cree ownership of this transmission line is a great example of what can be achieved when resource development companies engage honourably and meaningfully with Indigenous nations and the concerns of all parties are addressed upstream and conciliated. By owning and operating this key infrastructure for the region, with Osisko as a partner, the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi continues on its path to controlling the development of its traditional territory.”

John Kitchen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Miyuukaa, said: “Today’s agreement with Osisko highlights the benefits of what can be achieved when First Nations are involved in the decision making. The electrification of the Windfall project in collaboration with the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi is part of the vision behind the Grande Alliance agreement signed in February 2020 between the Grand Council of the Crees, the Cree Nation Government and the Government of Québec. A vision that calls for a collaborative, long-term, balanced socio-economic development in a spirit of respect for Cree values in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory. The Kuikuhaacheu Transmission Line, to be built by Miyuukaa, is a generational asset that will provide for training, employment and business opportunities for decades while respecting our Cree way of life. Emotions are hard to contain when thinking about the positive impact this will have on the CFNW youth, the core of our members.”

Osisko completes Major milestone at Windfall gold project

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Osisko Mining and Major Drilling have completed the longest diamond drill hole in Canada at the Windfall gold project in Quebec.

The Discovery 1 hole was a planned 3,000-3,500 m deep drill hole, designed to target two down plunge extensions of known gold zones and investigate the projected source area of the Windfall deposit at depth, Osisko said, adding that the working model for Windfall interprets an outer shell and centre of a possible porphyry intrusion feeding the Windfall-Lynx gold system.

The final length of Discovery 1 was 3,467 m, becoming the longest diamond drill hole in Canada, and achieving a vertical depth of 2,700 m from surface, the company said.

The hole was drilled from surface to 3,149 m with NQ rods and finished with BQ rods. Analytical results from the final 200 metres are at the laboratory, results are pending. The high value results from the hole are similar to those intersected in the Windfall and Lynx deposits, hosted in volcanics and felsic intrusions, with Discovery 1 ending in biotite and chlorite altered mafic volcanics with felsic porphyritic intrusions.

Osisko President and Chief Executive Officer, John Burzynski, said: “We are very proud of our Osisko team and Major Drilling for their tremendous work completing this hole. Successes include the discovery of the Underdog and Triple 8 extensions, the wide intercepts of anomalous gold values similar to those observed in the Lynx system, and now these new high value gold intercepts at depth. These results of the Discovery 1 hole show that the Windfall system is extensive with substantial room for potential growth.”

Osisko Mining talks underground fleet and process plant at Windfall

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The long-awaited preliminary economic assessment for Osisko Mining’s Windfall deposit in Quebec, Canada, has not disappointed with strong economics and a surprising amount of detail about how the company will move ore and waste at the underground asset.

Windfall, in the James Bay region, looks like becoming a 3,200 tonne per day, long-hole mining operation producing some 218,000 ounces per year of gold-equivalent at an all-in sustaining cost of $704 per ounce over an eight-year mine life. Output would peak in year one at 248,000 oz.

Costing C$397.3 million to build, the project is expected to return a post-tax net present value (5% discount) of C$397.3 million using gold and silver prices of US$1,300 per ounce and US$17/oz, respectively.

The PEA, conducted by consulting firms BBA Inc, InnovExplo, Golder Associates, WSP Canada and SNC-Lavalin, outlined simultaneous exploitation of two separate deposits – Windfall and Osborne-Bell – to achieve the production rate, with both delivering ore to a central processing facility in Lebel-sur-Quévillon (115 km from Windfall and 17km from Osborne-Bell).

Both deposits are set to be mined by long-hole with longitudinal retreat and have mineralised ore zones going from surface down to 1,200 m depth (Windfall) and 520 m (Osborne-Bell).

The panels at Windfall will have minimum length-by-height-by-thickness dimensions of 20 m by 20 m by 3.5-4 m and will be extracted using a fleet of 14-t LHDs and 50-t underground haul trucks at a rate of 2,600 t/d using a ramp.

Mineralised material at Osborne-Bell is expected to be extracted using a fleet of 7 t LHDs and 45 t haul trucks using a ramp operating at 600 t/d.

Mineralised material from both deposits is expected to be transported to the process plant by contractor.

The central processing facility is to consist of a jaw crusher, mineralised material reclaim system and storage (2,100 t live capacity), primary SAG mill (22’ by 11’) and secondary ball mill (15’ by 27’) in close circuit with cyclones producing a product of P80= 45 microns.

“A portion of the cyclone underflow will be fed to the gravity circuit with intensive leach,” Osisko said, with cyclone overflow going onto an eight-tank CIL circuit with 40-hour retention time. This will be followed by cyanide destruction and tailings disposal.

A 6 t/d carbon processing ADR circuit and gold room are expected to recover the gold and produce doré, with payable gold and silver recovery averaging 92.4 % and 68.9 %, respectively.

“The plant also includes a reagent preparation area and two process water circuits (cyanide-bearing and cyanide-free) to service the entire plant,” Osisko said.

With such detail, it is easy to forget the project is only at the PEA stage and will be further refined as it moves to feasibility study stage.

John Burzynski, President and CEO of Osisko Mining, said as much: “This is a very strong start to a project that is growing as inferred resources (2.284 million ounces averaging 6.7 g/t Au, out of a total 2.885Moz indicated and inferred resources) are being converted to higher-grade indicated resources by the ongoing drill programme, with optimised mining methods and with the ongoing exploration success at Windfall.”

The company has recently discovered a new zone, Triple 8, outside of the current resource base at Windfall and has also not yet factored in the Bobcat Zone into this study. These areas are expected to be included in next year’s feasibility study work.

Osisko said last year it planned to carry out 800,000 m of drilling at Windfall, capturing the market’s attention.