Modern Mining February 2018

MINING News

Sissingué pours first gold a month early

terrace, main stores, workshops, tempo- rary offices, a sewage treatment plant, a main access road and the production shaft headgear. The 83 m tall headgear – for which WorleyParsons RSA received a South African Institute of Steel Construction Award in 2014 in the mining and industrial category – was erected in just 18 days and will be used to service all the conveyances. The three winders are ground-mounted and include a Koepe winder for rock hoisting and a double drum cage/coun- terweight winder for men and material hoisting. A significant optimisation effort that WorleyParsons RSA achieved during the first phase of the project was the local development and implementation of a cost-effective and highly efficient roping- up system instead of importing a more expensive system. Illingworth explains that by working in conjunction with the Tech Edge group, WorleyParsons developed the first locally built Koepe roping-up equipment, suitable for four ropes simultaneously. This tailor- made equipment included deflection sheaves, a compression beam, rope reelers and a friction winch all controlled from a central desk supplied by Schneider. This was specifically designed for Bakubung and is expected to deliver significant sav- ings in both time and cost to the client over the life time of the shaft. Wesizwe officially launched its flagship Bakubung Platinum Mine development project (previously the Frischgewaagd- Ledig project) on 4 July 2011 and WorleyParsons RSA has been involved in the project for almost a decade, from pre- feasibility and feasibility stages to being appointed as EPCM contractor in 2012. The mine is located in North West Province on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex and is expected to have a lifespan of 35 years and employ over 3 100 people when full production is reached. It will produce 255 000 tonnes per month on steady state for 24 years. Four mining levels are planned rang- ing from 690 m to 810 m below collar. Both the Merensky and the UG2 reefs will be mined. Merensky reef around the shaft area is intersected at about 730,9 m below collar and UG2 reef is 769,4 m below collar. A concentrator plant will also be built on the mine. 

Perseus Mining, listed on the ASX and TSX, reports that first gold was poured at Sissingué, its second producing gold mine, on 26 January 2018, one month ahead of schedule. The ramp-up to full scale commercial production at Sissingué, located in Côte d’Ivoire, is progressing as planned and is expected to be achieved on or before 31 March 2018. The estimated capital cost of the full development of the Sissingué mine and infrastructure, excluding early works but including operations readiness initiatives, was US$107 million and on current esti- mates this budget will not be exceeded. In reaching the key milestone of ‘first gold pour’, approximately 2,3 million man hours were expended and, in that time, only one lost time injury was incurred on the site. This safety record compares very favourably with global safety benchmarks for construction and for metallic mining and is – says Perseus – a testament to the skill and dedication of its in-house con- struction team, contractors, and the many local citizens from the project catchment area who worked on this development project. As part of the implementation of its operations readiness plan for Sissingué, Perseus has recruited an experienced operating team under the leadership of

General Manager Merlin Thomas. The team has implemented necessary operating sys- tems and has been progressively assuming responsibility for the mine and infrastruc- ture as commissioning of each element has been completed and handed over by the construction team. “The pouring of first gold at Sissingué is an important milestone for Perseus on sev- eral levels,” comments Jeff Quartermaine, MD and CEO of Perseus. “Apart from the fact that our second producing mine, and our first mine in Côte d’Ivoire, is now operational ahead of schedule and on budget, the achievement of this milestone provides Perseus with a second cash flow stream and reduces the company’s reli- ance for income on our first mine, Edikan in Ghana. “The almost faultless execution of our development plan also confirms Perseus’s capacity to successfully develop gold projects in West Africa. This is particularly relevant in the context of our plans to start development of our third gold mine at Yaouré, also in Côte d’Ivoire, later this year. “We have a proven, ‘match fit’ develop- ment team that is ready and able to transfer their extensive knowledge and experience gained on the Sissingué development to theYaouré development, thereby reducing the ‘development risk’ associated with this important project.“ 

A recent view of the Sissingué site (photo: Perseus).

February 2018  MODERN MINING  5