Tag Archives: zinc

CR Powered by Epiroc plants roots in Saudi Arabia with Rasi Investment Co partnership

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

CR Powered by Epiroc says it has solidified its presence in the rapidly growing mining sector of the Middle East by signing a dealership agreement with Rasi Investment Co., a prominent investment firm in Saudi Arabia involved in mining, contracting, real estate, IT and trading.

This strategic partnership, facilitated by Austrade, represents a significant advancement for CR Powered by Epiroc in meeting the increasing demands of Saudi Arabia’s dynamic mining industry, it says.

Eng Meshary Al-Ali, Chairman of Rasi Investment Co, stated: “Partnering with CR Powered by Epiroc, the leading supplier of ground engagement tools (GET) and digital solutions, enables our mining operators in the Kingdom to source application-appropriate tools while considering engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain variables. This collaboration will help reduce downtime and increase productivity by at least 5%.”

As Saudi Arabia ramps up its adoption of advanced mining technologies, the heavy equipment market is projected to exceed $4 billion. The Kingdom is actively seeking to tap into its untapped mineral reserves, which have surged from a 2016 estimate of $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, according to Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al Khorayef. These reserves include essential resources such as copper, gold, phosphates, zinc, and uranium, underscoring the need for cutting-edge mining equipment and digital solutions.

In alignment with Saudi Vision 2030, the country’s comprehensive roadmap for economic development and diversification, the mining sector has been identified as the third pillar of the Kingdom’s economy, alongside petroleum and petrochemicals. By 2030, the sector is expected to contribute 240 billion Saudi riyals ($64 billion) to the GDP, marking a fourfold increase from 2015 levels.

Chairman Eng. Meshary, also the CEO of Golden Compass, one of the leading mining service companies in Saudi Arabia, emphasised the importance of this alliance: “By choosing a trusted partner like CR Powered by Epiroc, we are establishing a robust alliance that will ensure our products perform at their peak in the Kingdom, leveraging GET and digital solutions to generate valuable data that underpins new insights and enhances mining operations.”

Paul Scutt, CEO of CR Powered by Epiroc, added: “We are excited to announce this partnership with Rasi Investment Co as our authorised dealer in Saudi Arabia. This agreement is a critical milestone for CR Power by Epiroc as we expand into key regions vital to the future of mining in the Middle East and globally. Rasi Investment Co’s extensive local market knowledge, combined with our cutting-edge technology, will allow us to deliver exceptional value to our customers. We look forward to a successful collaboration that drives innovation and efficiency in the global mining industry.”

Miguel Guimaraes, Head of East Australasia and India of CR Powered by Epiroc, added, “This alliance with Rasi Investment Co establishes a strong footprint in the Kingdom with a trusted local partner well-established in the mining sector. Our proactive collaboration is a step forward toward realising Saudi Vision 2030, supporting local industrial development, creating jobs, boosting productivity in mining projects and reinforcing the mining sector’s role as the economy’s third pillar.”

David Shao, Global Engagement Manager at Austrade, highlighted the international reputation of Australia’s METS sector, saying: “Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner for Australia. Two-way goods and services trade totaled $2.7 billion in 2023. As the mining sector in Saudi Arabia evolves, there are opportunities for enhanced safety and productivity through closer economic ties with Australia, a recognised leader in the METS sector.”

DNDC, Fireweed Metals and Solvest embark on renewable power project for Macpass

Base metals, Environmental, Mining project news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

Dena Nezziddi Development Corporation (DNDC), Fireweed Metals Corp and Solvest Inc have partnered to enhance sustainable, economic resource development at the Macpass project, in the Traditional Territories of the Kaska Dena Nation and the First Nation of Na-cho Nyäk Dun.

DNDC, based in Ross River, Yukon, through its wholly owned company, Tu-Lidlini Petroleum LP (TLP), has entered into a five-year lease with Fireweed for the renewable power equipment. Solvest, with expertise in renewable energy solutions, is providing the design, construction and maintenance of the facility.

The renewable power system includes a 70 kW DC ground mount solar array, and a containerised power system comprised of a 144 kWh battery, 54 kW inverters, switchgear and controllers.

Diesel fuel savings from this project are estimated by Solvest at about 24,000 litre per season, equivalent to more than an 80% reduction in carbon emissions directly for its Sekie Camp power. Other benefits include a significant reduction in camp noise from operating diesel generators, lower cost of power and the ability to redeploy the power system.

This is the first renewable power project for TLP, which envisions transitioning to provide both traditional and renewable forms of energy to its clients. This project demonstrates Fireweed’s commitment to sustainably explore and develop critical mineral assets in Canada through progressive leadership, high standards, innovation, and collaborative partnerships for the benefit of present and future generations. The Macpass project is one of the largest, undeveloped primary-zinc projects globally and is accessible by the North Canol Road, some 200 km from Ross River in eastern Yukon.

Solvest provided about 25% of the funding for the project with additional funding provided by The Government of Yukon through the Innovative Renewable Energy Initiative and from the Government of Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada through the Northern REACHE program. The funding support acknowledges the project’s goals: to reduce diesel consumption and GHG emissions at an exploration camp; and to support economic development opportunities for Dena Nezziddi Development Corporation.

Peter Hemstead, Interim President and CEO, Fireweed Metals Corp, said: “Tu-Lidlini Petroleum has been a trusted supplier of fuels for our exploration operations for several seasons, and this collaboration with TLP and Solvest makes financial, operational and environmental sense. Fireweed will continue to look for opportunities to work alongside partners like TLP and DNDC to both enhance our environmental performance and provide economic benefits to the local communities we work with.”

Cynthia Dick, General Manger, Tu-Lidlini Petroleum LP, said: “DNDC and TLP are excited to be developing projects in the renewable energy field. While allowing renewable energy to complement our existing energy business it also provides us an opportunity to work on reducing our footprint in our territory which we all need to strive towards. The partnership with Solvest and Fireweed Metals has provided an excellent opportunity to make this a reality.”

Ben Power, CEO & co-Founder, Solvest, said: “This project builds on our track record of developing meaningful projects in northern Canada that provide opportunities for our clients and partners to realise their visions of sustainable project development and to enhance ESG attributes. This project is important to us as it is in our home territory and is the first project with both DNDC and Fireweed Metals. We appreciate this opportunity to collaboratively develop a creative commercial structure and to co-invest in another power project, adding to our EPC and O&M services to provide a full-service solar and energy storage product. We acknowledge the support of the territorial and federal grant agencies that were able to confirm funding support for DNDC in a short time frame.”

GR Engineering to refurb process plant at Develop’s Woodlawn project

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , ,

GR Engineering Services Limited has been awarded a design and construct contract with Develop Global Limited for the Woodlawn Restart project, in New South Wales, Australia.

Woodlawn is primarily a copper-zinc mine located in the Lachlan Ford belt in NSW, 250 km southwest of Sydney and 40 km south of Goulburn.

The contract value is A$25.7 million ($17.5 million) and the scope of work includes the refurbishment flowsheet and operability improvements of the existing process plant and associated infrastructure. The project is expected to be completed in the second half of thr 2025 financial year.

Tony Patrizi, Managing Director, said: “We are pleased to have been engaged by Develop to play an important role on the Woodlawn Restart project. We
look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Develop to deliver a safe and successful outcome for this project and to assist them with their future growth plans.”

Woodlawn has a resource of 11.3 Mt at 1.8% Cu, 5.8% Zn, 2.1% Pb, 46 g/t Ag and 0.5 g/t Au, for contained metal of 190,000 t of copper and 650,000 t of zinc.

The mine plan estimates that Woodlawn will produce an average of 12,000 t/y of copper and 36,000 t/y of zinc metal in payable streams over an estimated 10-year mine life.

Luca Mining looks to contractor Comvini for Campo Morado production boost

Base metals, Mine operation news, Mining services, , , , , ,

Luca Mining Corp has engaged Cominvi, S.A. de C.V. to carry out core mining operations at the company’s 100% owned Campo Morado copper-zinc-gold mine in Guerrero state, Mexico.

Cominvi is, Luca Mining says, one of the largest and most respected mining contractors in Latin America with a particular expertise in underground mining. It has a well-earned reputation for delivering excellent results with the highest degree of safety and responsibility.

Working with Cominvi will allow Luca to quickly increase production at Campo Morado and will provide cost-effective access to newer mining equipment for the company’s ongoing operations. Luca Mining added: “The addition of Cominvi to our operations team will help ensure that Campo Morado can meet and exceed its daily production targets and will provide a rapid path to further increases in production and revenues without incurring significant capital expenditures. ”

Dan Barnholden, CEO of Luca Mining, said Comvini bring incredible expertise and experience to Campo Morado and will greatly enhance the company’s operational flexibility.

“The timing of this decision is fortuitous as Cominvi has just completed a major mining project nearby and, therefore, mobilisation will occur very quick,” he said. “We intend to increase our mill throughput from the current 1,400-1,600 t/d to 2,000 t/d by year end and continue to push forward to 2,400 t/d mill rate during 2025. These achievements, along with the company’s previously announced Campo Morado Improvement Project to increase metallurgical recoveries and produce higher value concentrates, will have a material positive impact on the company’s production, costs and cash flow.

“Cominvi’s seasoned team will be an important factor in the execution of these plans.”

Luca Mining is a diversified Canadian mining company with two 100%-owned producing mines in Mexico within the prolific Sierra Madre Mineral Belt. The company produces gold, copper, zinc, silver and lead from these mines that each have considerable development and resource upside.

HPY provides ‘transformational’ ore sorting upgrade at Fankou lead-zinc operation

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

HPY prides itself on being “the manufacturer of the world’s most diverse and efficient ore sorting product line” and, it says, this has been proven in the newest technical upgrades carried out on Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet’s Fankou Mineral Processing Plant and Construction Material Plant, in China.

Through the strategic use of all new models of HPY’s sensor-based sorting machines, Fankou’s Mineral Processing Plant has experienced a transformation in the sorting system, the company says. The mine can now sort coarse particle sized ores using HPY’s Golden Coal Series, elevating efficiency in the SAG mill, reducing the energy consumption of the whole system and significantly reducing the size of the mine’s tailings pond.

Previously, Fankou had registered a $2.9 million annual revenue increase following the introduction of four HPY Classic Series sorters. Currently, one Circle Series XRT sorter has the same sorting capacity as two conveyor belt-based sorting machines; the most recent technical upgrade allowed Fankou to replace four Classic Series sorters with two Circle Series sorters, reducing electricity usage by 14 times. These figures demonstrate the significant financial benefits that can be achieved using HPY technology, HPY says

In the article, “Maximising the benefits of sensor-based ore sorting machines,” published in April 2023, HPY Technology outlined how the cooperation project came together.

Fankou’s two process plants, the Mineral Processing Plant and the Construction Material Plant, are in Renhua County, Guangdong, China, and have a long history. Once one of Asia’s largest lead-zinc mines, this mine faced significant challenges as the years progressed. As Mr Luo, the plant’s General Manager, explains, “In its peak year, it could deliver approximately 180,000 tons of lead-zinc. However, after over 60 years of production, depleting resources and accumulating waste rock piles forced the mine to take drastic measures to modify the entire processing chain.” Such conditions underscored the necessity for solutions like HPY’s machines.

Fankou’s entire modification plan was ambitious; its total budget was estimated at $27.6 million since it needed to lay the groundwork and renovate the building, adding HPY’s ore sorting step to the process flow fitted nicely within its plan of upgrading its overall mining process.

At the end of 2017, Fankou’s executive team went to HPY Technology’s testing centre to carry out preliminary sorting tests. Mr Luo noted: “There were few companies in China that did sensor-based sorting at the time; in addition, Fankou’s lead-zinc was considered by many the ‘hard-to-sort’ type.”

Not long after, HPY and Fankou’s team decided to approach this project as a research project in 2018, the two parties agreed HPY would form a dedicated team to conduct specialised research on providing the most economical and technically responsible lead-zinc sorting solutions for the Fankou project. It did not take long for satisfactory results to start coming in. HPY successfully fulfilled its mission in 2019, and the machines were officially added to the plant thereafter.

Fankou’s mineral processing plant initially used four Classic Series P60-X1400 ore sorting machines. The machine processes the particle size range of +10-90 mm, which accounts for about 50% of the raw ore. This accounts for 2,600 tons of ore, rejecting 400-500 t/d of waste rock. After pre-concentration, the lead and zinc content in the waste rock is below 0.3%, and the sulphur and iron content is below 3.8%. Therefore, the ore sorting process enriches the ore grade by 1.08% for lead and zinc and 2% for sulphur and iron.

Figure 1: Four Classic Series P60-X1400 ore sorters in Fankou’s mineral processing plant

This sorter is the typical conveyor belt metal separator in China, and similar designs are seen elsewhere.

The project highlighted how HPY’s boosted machinery throughput had positively impacted the safety aspect of the mine’s mining practice; the mine can now mine more areas by vertical blasting, eliminating the risk of personnel working underground entirely, it says.

Mr Luo commends HPY’s updated ore sorting machine for completely changing the way Fankou mines: “Due to the depletion of mineral resources and the Chinese government’s increasing emphasis on the ESG aspect of the big mines, we did underground mining before discovering the option of HPY sensor-based sorting. However, not only is the production rate not ideal, but because the space in the underground channels is very narrow, we need personnel to attend to the errands, which makes the mining production very low and extremely unsafe.” He added: “After vertical crater retreat and large blasting, a large number of tailings and the unnecessarily high cost generated in the mills during the processing can be significantly reduced with an ore sorter; all we need to do is send in carts, have it shoveled onto the bin, and have it crushed, screened and cabled to the sorters.”

Since its installation, HPY Technology has upgraded its entire product line. With an enhanced sensor detection system and a remodelled module design that allows for easy maintenance, HPY’s machines’ processing capacity significantly improves compared with the older models. By March 2023, after using HPY’s machines for four years, Fankou – now a ‘royal customer’ – was open and excited for another round of machine upgrading to increase the amount of sorted material.

Upon HPY’s advice, the Fankou Mineral Processing Plant switched its four Classic Series to two Circle Series and one Golden Coal Series (See Figure 2). The Golden Coal Series was previously made to sort coal; after some updates and redesign by the HPY R&D team, it is now made specially for large particle-sized ore sorting. In Fankou’s case, +40 mm-90 mm sized ores will enter the Golden Coal Series for pre-concentration. As for the two Circle Series on the side, their expertise lies in their accuracy in sorting and large processing capacity that could replace two typical conveyor belt-based sorters with one machine. Their particle size ranges from +10-40 mm, considering those are the major distribution sizes produced during the initial screening process in Fankou. However, according to Mr Luo, Fankou is still in the process of optimisation now that the upgraded machines could process greater size distributions: “In the past, ores that are larger than 90 mm will enter straight into the SAG mill process, we plan to increase the Circle Series particle size to +10-60 mm and feed the +60-150 mm to the Golden Coal Series, this will help us increase the efficiency of the semi-autogenous mill process even more.”

Figure 2: Left being the Golden Coal Series, the middle and the side ring-shaped machine being the Circle Series

The ore sorting process modification consists of first removing one Classic Series and replacing it with a Golden Coal Series. The installation and training process took one month, and, by June 2023, the Golden Coal Series was running at total capacity. The two Circle Series’ implementation stretched longer as the mine could only halt its production for installation during more extended holidays in October 2023 and February 2024. Therefore, it took the entire Fankou Mineral Processing Plant a year to update all of the ore sorting machines (see Figure 3).

As mentioned before, the processing capacity prior to the update was around 2,500-2,600 t/d; after the machine update was completed, it went up to 3,500 t/d. A benefit of this update is that the Circle Series has less power consumption; thus, more revenue is generated from the sorted ore. The circular vibrating material layout maximises the symmetrical mass of the disc, requiring minimal excitation force to drive the ore toward the circumferential direction evenly. This significantly reduces energy consumption compared with traditional feeders, which rely on excitation force to move under their own weight, HPY says. Compared with belt-type ore sorting equipment with a width of 1.4 m, the energy consumption of this 1.5-m diameter disc feeder machine can be reduced from 7.5 kW to 0.75 kW.

HPY Technology | Fankou lead-zinc Mine, Mineral Processing Plant
Machine used One Golden Coal Series | Two Circle Series
Processing capacity 3,500 t/d
Particle size +10-150 mm
Concentrated ore grade (Pb+Zn) 12% (most economic ore grade)
Waste rock grade (Pb+Zn) <0.3%
Grinding grade (Pb+Zn) increased by 1.08%
Rejection rate 16-17%
Figure 3: Before and After with the HPY machine update in Fankou

The Chinese government has ordered Fankou to close its tailings pond by 2025. Thanks to the support of HPY Technology Golden Coal Series coarse particle sorters, Fankou is able to effectively decrease its tailings pond and have 58% leftover tailings for backfill, it says. In the close circuit of the Fankou Mineral Processing Plant, every resource is used and no ore has gone to waste.

“At HPY, we are focused on exploring paths that may revolutionise the mining of natural resources and pushing forward sustainable extraction through our expertise in resource management,” Coral Lin, Manager of HPY Branding Department, says.

Hermosa

South32 selects Nogales location for Hermosa ROC

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South32’s Hermosa project has announced that it would construct its remote operations centre (ROC) in Nogales, Arizona, USA, with the facility set to be named Centro.

Hermosa is, South32 says, currently the only advanced mining project in the US capable of producing two federally designated critical minerals – zinc and manganese.

The ROC location decision follows two years of extensive analysis and careful consideration of Hermosa’s county-wide planning and employment goals to retain the economic benefits of the project in the Santa Cruz County area, it says.

As part of the location announcement, the Hermosa project is also debuting a new name for the ROC: Centro, a name chosen by the community in an online vote that took place earlier this year.

Hermosa Project President, Pat Risner, said: “Locating Centro in Nogales enables us to help transform the Santa Cruz County economy, by creating and training local residents without prior mining experience to fill high-skilled, good-paying jobs so the next generation has more opportunities right here at home.”

The selected location, just off Interstate 19 near the Mariposa Industrial Park, is approximately 70 miles (113 km) south of Tucson and approximately 28 miles to the Hermosa mine site. The building location will reduce commuter traffic to and from the mine site, as well as help build out local roads and infrastructure in the surrounding area, South32 explained.

Designed as a commercial building with an office-like setting, Centro will accommodate employees and the automation technology needed to remotely monitor and operate some of the underground and surface equipment located at the mine site. Centro will host around 200 full-time employees over several shifts in a 24-hour period.

Centro will be part of a 9 acre (3.6 ha) complex that will also include an employee parking lot, a park & ride service area to take employees and contractors to our other sites, and a garden. Construction will begin by the end of 2024.

In addition to Centro in Nogales, the Hermosa project is assessing the potential to site additional buildings, operational and/or job training infrastructure throughout Santa Cruz County.

As the first mining project added to the federal government’s FAST-41 permitting process, the Hermosa project aims to put southern Arizona in the driver’s seat of the clean energy race, supplying two critical minerals needed for the expansion of clean energy technologies and associated infrastructure.

Back in February, South32’s board gave final investment approval to develop the Taylor deposit, part of the Hermosa project, saying it would cost some $2.16 billion based on feasibility study results.

It is a project that is set to apply ‘next generation mine’ design principles using automation and technology to drive efficiencies and lower operational greenhouse gas emissions. This includes a plan to incorporate battery-electric LHDs, drilling and ancillary fleets. This strategy, included in the feasibility study, results in improved efficiency, reduced diesel consumption and greenhouse emissions compared with the prefeasibility study on the project.

DMC Mining to construct Clark exploration decline at South32 Hermosa

Base metals, Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

DMC Mining Services says it will construct the Clark exploration decline at the South32-owned Hermosa site in Arizona, USA, as part of a recent contract award.

In an announcement last month, South32 said the board had provided the final investment approval to develop the Taylor deposit, part of the wider Hermosa project, with funding of $2.16 billion. This followed the release of a feasibility study outlining a circa-4.3 Mt/y operation with average payable zinc-equivalent output of circa-253,000 t/y over a 28-year mine life.

Beyond Taylor, however, South32 has been working on its Clark development option, currently the only advanced project in the USA with a clear pathway to produce battery-grade manganese from locally sourced ore, according to the company.

In May 2023, South32 released the results of a selection phase pre-feasibility study (PFS-S) for the Clark deposit, which confirmed the potential for an underground mine integrated with Taylor, and a separate process plant, capable of supplying battery-grade manganese. Study work has progressed to a definition phase pre-feasibility study, with South32 confirming the commencement of construction of an exploration decline, due to be completed in late 2025, to enable access to ore for demonstration-scale production. This is where DMC Mining comes in.

In announcing this contract award, DMC Mining said: “Throughout the meticulous planning phase, South32 and DMC have been united by a shared vision and unwavering values, setting the stage for unparalleled success. Together, we’re not just setting the bar, we’re raising it, ready to redefine industry standards!

“This project not only underscores our commitment to delivering superior project solutions, but also signifies a significant stride in our dedication to serving our clients in the US market.”

Aeris Resources looks to solve Stockman recovery challenges with Albion process

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , ,

Aeris Resources has provided an update on the feasibility study underway on its 100% owned Stockman project in Victoria, Australia, guiding for a development path that includes ultrafine grinding and the Albion Process from Glencore Technology.

Andre Labuschagne, Aeris’ Executive Chairman, said: “We are very excited with the potential of the Stockman project. Since acquiring Stockman as part of the Round Oak acquisition in July 2022, our technical teams have materially advanced the project.”

With a recent update to the mineral resource estimate for the Currawong deposit, the company now intends to mine only Currawong for the first 12 years of operations, at a rate of up to 850,000 t/y of ore, he added.

“Mining Currawong simplifies the operation compared to the previous plan of mining Currawong and Wilga concurrently, whilst also reducing up-front capital,” he said.

The processing strategy will involve two stages: the mine site processing plant will have a simplified flowsheet producing a high-grade copper concentrate and a bulk concentrate containing copper, zinc, gold and silver. The copper concentrate will be transported to market while the bulk concentrate will be trucked to a regional offsite processing facility. The offsite processing facility will use ultrafine grinding and the Albion Process to produce separate copper, zinc and precious metals saleable products.

Labuschagne said: “The addition of the Albion Process has potential to provide a step change in metal recoveries and materially improve project economics. An initial desktop study has been completed with the technology vendor, utilising the recent feasibility study and metallurgical test work results. A number of potential locations for the off-site processing facility have already been identified.

“The Albion Process technology is in operation at multiple locations globally, processing copper, zinc and precious metals. This is well established, oxidative leaching technology proven to treat a wide range of concentrates with high metal recoveries.”

The Albion Process uses a combination of ultrafine grinding and oxidative leaching at atmospheric pressure to work. It also tolerates a more variable feed and lower grade than other processes, according to Glencore Technology, meaning it can make some projects feasible and profitable where alternative technologies could not. The sulphides in the feed are oxidised and valuable metals liberated, with the economic metals recovered by conventional downstream processing. Test work requires only small sample masses with no pilot plant, Glencore Technology says.

The process has produced high recoveries in refractory gold and in base metal concentrates at the six Albion Process plants in operation across the globe, according to the company.

Labuschagne says opportunities to further improve other aspects of the operations, its ESG footprint and project economics have also been identified, which are progressing.

He added: “The feasibility study will now focus on verification of the metallurgical, flowsheet and economic assumptions associated with incorporating the Albion Process into the project. We are targeting to finalise the feasibility study in the second (June) half of 2024.”

The Stockman project was acquired by Round Oak Minerals Pty Ltd (ROM) from Independence Group NL (IGO) in December 2017. Aeris subsequently acquired the ROM businesses, including the Stockman project, in July 2022.

In 2019, ROM completed a Selection Phase Study (SPS), consolidating and advancing earlier studies undertaken by previous owners of the project, IGO and Jabiru Metals Limited. The ROM SPS comprised the development of two underground mines (Wilga and Currawong), mining approximately 1 Mt/y, and an on-site flotation processing plant producing copper and zinc concentrates with precious metal by-products. Results from the SPS provided the basis for ROM to commence a Definition Phase Study.

South32 eyes teleremote loading, dry stacking, ore sorting for Hermosa

Base metals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

South32’s Hermosa project in Arizona, USA, continues to make progress, and recently provided updates on the latest developments in construction, efforts to support local workforce development and benchmarking community health metrics to support future sustainability and safety initiatives.

The feasibility study and an independent peer review for Hermosa’s Taylor deposit is on track for completion by the end of the month, with a final investment decision in the March 2024 quarter.

In May, the Hermosa team began initial excavation for the main exploration shaft and the ventilation shaft to provide underground access to the zinc resource.

Pre-sink activities for both shafts remain on track, with 50 ft (15 m) excavated for the main exploration shaft and 115 ft excavated for a ventilation shaft. This construction will allow the creation of infrastructure needed for safe passage of people and vehicles underground, while total depth of the shafts will be approximately 2,900 ft (884 m).

Taylor will use tele-remote semi-autonomous mucking for production stopes, including for development prior to production mining, South32 says. This will enable operation from the remote operating centre and would ‘engineer out’ vehicle and pedestrian interactions in the production mining area.

The project is also looking to make use of other advanced mining methods such as dry stack tailings, advanced process control, and the use of ore sensing and ore sorting, the company added.

Hermosa Vice President Project Delivery, Andy Thompson, said: “This advanced, underground mining method enables reduced surface impact and the amount of tailings resulting in a more sustainable mine.”

The South32 Hermosa Workforce Development Taskforce has been formed to identify the skills needed and local facilities available to help train, develop and expand the region’s workforce. The taskforce enables the Hermosa team to work with local education experts to develop a clear pathway for training local residents to fill skilled jobs at Hermosa, South32 says.

Skylie Estep, Human Resources Director North America, said “The first step in helping transform the local economy is partnering with community members whose expertise and understanding of our region’s educational needs can help create opportunities, so that the next generation can stay in Santa Cruz County.”

South32 says the Hermosa team has engaged Ramboll, a global consulting firm, to guide a baseline community health assessment and outreach to local public health institutions.

“Protecting the health of our workforce and the local community is our priority, and partnering with third-party public health organisations to regularly monitor and report findings ensures transparency and accountability on this critical metric,” the company said.

A baseline assessment will help Hermosa team to understand what levels of manganese and other minerals already exist in the community and environment, it said. By conducting this assessment before operations begin, the company says it can make sure health and safety controls are in place, better understand any changes over time, and ensure controls remain effective throughout the life of the project.

Caterpillar, Borusan make historic underground equipment delivery to Anglo Asian Mining in Azerbaijan

Automation, Base metals, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Anglo Asian Mining says the Caterpillar mining fleet for its new Gilar mine has now been delivered to the Gedabek mine site, marking the first time Caterpillar underground equipment will be deployed in Azerbaijan.

The equipment will be substantially vendor-financed, and this is the first time Caterpillar will provide this to a customer in Azerbaijan or the wider Caucasus region.

The underground mining fleet comprises three 15-t-payload R1700 underground loaders and two 980UMA wheel loaders with 5.6 cu.m buckets.

Borusan, the authorised regional dealer of Caterpillar equipment, will maintain a stock of spare parts and consumables within Azerbaijan and major parts will be held at Borusan regional centres in Türkiye and Kazakhstan, Anglo Asian says. This will enable efficient aftersales servicing of the machines over their lifetime, which was a major factor in the machine selection process.

The company says: “The underground mining fleet are ‘state-of-the-art’, next-generation machines constructed with safety at their core. They are more powerful and contain many new features compared to their predecessors. The operator environment has been improved and is more comfortable. Many new safety features have been added, including better access points, multiple fire suppression systems and improved visibility and lighting.”

The underground equipment will be used in the company’s new Gilar mine, which is currently under construction and development. On December 11, a maiden JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate was published for the Gilar deposit. This confirmed 6.1 Mt of mineralisation with an average copper grade of 0.88% and 1.30 g/t Au. The in-situ mineral resource is 54,000 t of copper, 255,000 oz of gold and 46,000 t of zinc, according to the company.

The Gilar mine is scheduled to begin production around the middle of 2024 and will be an important source of production, bridging the gap between declining grades at Gedabek’s existing mines and production starting from its much bigger Xarxar and Garadag contract areas.

The total cost of the equipment is $4.6 million. The $3.7 million balance due for the purchase of the equipment will be paid by the end of December 2023 from the group’s existing liquidity resources. It is anticipated that $3.7 million will be refinanced by a vendor financing loan from Caterpillar. Negotiations are continuing with Caterpillar Finance to finalise execution of the loan which is expected to close in the March quarter of 2024.

A ceremony was held on the afternoon of December 11, 2023, to mark the arrival of the equipment at Gedabek. This was attended by the group’s leadership team, Azeri and Turkish representatives from Caterpillar and Borusan, along with representatives from both the central and regional Governments of Azerbaijan. A demonstration was also given of operating one of the machines by remote control.