Modern Mining April 2019

MINING News

Wood Group to undertake PFS on Longonjo

Following the recent mineral resource upgrade at its Longonjo NdPr project in Angola, ASX-listed Pensana Metals has appointed the international engineer- ing company Wood Group to execute a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) for the expedited development of the project. The study will focus on the delivery of an open-pit mine and 1,5 Mt/a flota- tion operation producing 95 000 tonnes of NdPr ((neodymium/praseodymium) concentrate for export to China via the recently upgraded Benguela rail line and the Atlantic deep-water port of Lobito. The project lies just 4,3 km from the sealed national highway and rail line that run from the port at Benguela, 200 km to the west, to the provincial capital of Huambo, 60 km to the east. Discussions with potential financiers have commenced and it is expected that a financing package will be finalised to coincide with the completion of the PFS (scheduled for September 2019). Pensana is of the view that given the work that has been completed to date and the relative simplicity of the operation, it should be possible tomove immediately to Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and Engineering Procurement Construction Management (EPCM) following the com- pletion of a favourable PFS. “The development concept is very straightforward,” commented Dave Hammond, Chief Operating Officer of Pensana. “We are looking at a low capital cost, shallow open-pit and flotation opera- tion producing a high-grade concentrate

for export to China via the adjacent major rail and port infrastructure.” He added t ha t t he r e cen t l y s ub s t an t i a l l y increased mineral resource e s t ima t e ha s enab l ed Pensana to bring forward the PFS. “Our aim is to get into production and build our customer base at a time when EV and wind turbine manufacturers are driving the increasing demand for NdPr magnets for electric motors and Chinese rare earth processors are looking for additional low-cost feed- stock,” he said. I n i t i a l deve l opment studies will focus on the highest grade and qual- ity portion of the mineral resource estimate – the near surface weathered zone mineralisation.

Dave Hammond, COO and Chief Geologist of Pensana, at site, standing on top of a visible outcropping of NdPr ore (photo: Pensana).

The weathered zone consists of a thick blanket of soft, friable NdPr mineralisation that occurs over an area of approximately 700 x 700 m to typical depths of 20 m. Such material is amenable to ’free-dig’, shallow open-pit mining with a very low waste to mineralisation ratio. Pensana has already demonstrated an effective processing route for this style of mineralisation to produce a high-grade mineral concentrate using flotation tech- niques. The company is working with

Chinese technical institutes to further opti- mise the concentrate production process flowsheet. The high-grade weathered zone subset represents less than 10 % of the total min- eral resource estimate and at a 0,65 %NdPr lower cut-off includes 22,9 Mt at 4,16 % REO (Rare Earth Oxide). Subsequent studies will focus on an expansion of this initial operation to treat additional NdPr mineralisation from this large deposit.  ment maintenance, load and haul, and mining operations. This new volume-based contract follows Majwe’s successful com- pletion of the Cut-8 project at Jwaneng in November 2018. Bruce Cleaver, Chairman of Debswana, said: “The extension of Jwaneng mine secures Botswana’s rightful place as a lead- ing diamond producing nation for years to come. With global consumer demand for diamonds reaching record levels in 2018, the extension will enable us to continue to meet the needs of our consumers all over theworld.We are deeply proud of the central role Jwaneng mine has played in Botswana’s remarkable development story and of the role this investment will play in its future.” 

Giant Cut-9 project at Jwaneng diamond mine kicks off The Debswana Diamond Company (Deb­ swana), a 50/50 joint venture between the Government of Botswana and De Beers Group, has announced the commencement of the Cut-9 project to extend the life of Jwaneng, one of the world’s most valuable diamond mines. ment to the future of Botswana’s diamond industry. The shareholders of Debswana have approved the budget for 2019 so that the next phase of work can commence.

Atitspeak,Cut-9isexpectedtocreatemore than 1 000 jobs, the majority of which will be heldby Batswana citizens. A local contract has also been awarded by Debswana to Majwe Mining, a joint venture between Bothakga Burrow Botswana and Thiess Botswana, to provide diamond mining services. The value of the contract is US$1,2 billion. Majwe will provide full scope mining services over nine years, including drill and on-bench services, mine planning, equip-

The project will extend the life of Jwa­ neng to 2035 and is expected to yield an estimated 53 million carats of rough dia- monds from 44 million tonnes of treated material. Debswana will invest approximately US$2 billion over the life of the project, underpinning the partnership’s commit-

April 2019  MODERN MINING  9