Modern Mining January 2018

January 2018 Vol 14 No 1 www.crown.co.za M ODERN MINING IN THIS ISSUE… AFRICA’S TOP MINING PROJECTS

 Ity CIL project  Bisie Tin Mine  Cullinan Processing Plant  Venetia Underground Project (VUP)  Booysendal South

MODERN M I N I N G

CONTENTS

JANUARY 2018

ARTICLES

COVER 20 BME ready for the upturn

Editor Arthur Tassell Advertising Manager Bennie Venter e-mail: benniev@crown.co.za Design & Layout

EVENTS 25 Junior mining to feature strongly at Mining Indaba FEATURE – AFRICA’S TOP MINING PROJECTS 29 Introduction 30 Endeavour’s Ity CIL project will create a flagship asset 42 Alphamin’s Bisie tin project takes off 48 Venetia Underground will be a high-tech pacesetter 56 Petra’s new processing plant a ‘gentle giant’ 62 Northam’s internal growth engine: Booysendal South REGULARS MINING NEWS 6 Teranga reports record gold production in 2017 7 Roxgold receives permitting approval 8 Tharisa makes strong start to its 2018 financial year 9 Metallon Corporation sells its Arcturus gold mine 10 Upgrade work triples hydropower plant’s output 12 Battery Minerals reaches“major milestone” 13 Mali’s newest mine pours its first gold 14 B2Gold’s African mines perform strongly 15 Boungou mine development 75 % complete 16 Solar-powered load scanning at gold mine 16 Record high-grade intersection at T3 deposit 17 Seventeen rigs deployed onWaterberg project 18 Azumah launches new drill campaigns PRODUCT NEWS 66 Mechanised equipment developed for local market 67 Komatsu introduces 70-tonne excavator 68 Massive motors installed by M&C at Cobre Panamá 69 Mining industry embraces bolted tank thickeners 70 Weba provides solution for Chilean copper mine 71 Tech Edge provides rope-handling system for Bakubung 72 Weir Minerals Africa boosts capacity and footprint

Darryl James Circulation Karen Smith Publisher Karen Grant

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Deputy Publisher Wilhelm du Plessis Printed by: Shumani Mills Communications

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

Published monthly by: Crown Publications cc P O Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008

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Tel: (+27 11) 622-4770 Fax: (+27 11) 615-6108 e-mail: mining@crown.co.za www.modernminingmagazine.co.za

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Cover Specialised transporters are filled with BME’s Innovex emulsion from underground tanks and deliv- ered to re-filling stations near the stope face, from where the BME Minicharger portable charging units (PCUs) are filled. See page 20 for our cover story.

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Average circulation (July–September 2017) 4270

January 2018  MODERN MINING  3

COMMENT

Mozambique’s graphite boom

M ost readers will know by now that graphite is one of the hot- test commodities around with demand expected to show a sharp increase over the next few years. This is largely as a result of its use in a number of new technologies, including the lithium-ion batteries that are key to the on-going shift by automotive manufacturers to electric and hybrid vehicles. As a result of the growth in demand, explo- ration and development of graphite deposits is underway in a number of African countries. These include Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia and Madagascar but perhaps the ‘epicentre’ of the graphite boom is Mozambique and specifi- cally Cabo Delgado Province in the north of the country, which looks to be emerging as one of the world’s great graphite producing areas. Already it is home to one major new graphite mine, Balama, which Syrah Resources brought on stream towards the end of last year but oth- ers are on the way – notably the Montepuez project of Battery Minerals and the Ancuabe project of Triton Minerals. Syrah, Battery Minerals and Triton are all listed on the ASX and it is probably fair to say that Australians are leading the charge when it comes to the devel- opment of Africa’s graphite resources. As an historical aside, the fact that Cabo Delgado Province hosts massive graphite deposits has been known for more than a cen- tury with the graphite occurrences in the area first being documented in the 1890s by John H. Furman, a geologist and engineer working for the Nyassa Company. In a report he prepared, he stated that north of Mualia he had discov- ered “the greatest deposits of graphite, of a most excellent quality which I think have ever been found. They extend several miles in length and will aggregate more than 700 ft in thickness.” Syrah’s US$210 million Balama mine, now in its ramp-up phase is said to be the world’s largest – and one of the lowest cost – flake graphite mines. It is expected to produce 180 kt of product in CY2018 and between 250 and 300 kt in CY2019 but has the capability to produce 350 kt/a. The resource is huge and suf- ficient for a mine life of over 50 years. After Balama, the next graphite mine likely to come on stream is the Montepuez proj- ect (see page 12) of Battery Minerals, located about 50 km north of Balama. Battery Minerals announced in early December that it had appointed the lead design engineers (DRA and Minnovo) and placed the order for the primary crusher, with a capacity of over 1,3 Mt/a (which is more than twice Montepuez’s initial require- ment but allows for planned expansion). Battery Minerals is hoping to have

Montepuez commissioning by the end of this year with the first shipment of product expected in the first quarter of 2019. The project has a modular design with the pre-production capex being a very modest US$42,3 million for a pro- duction capacity of 45 to 50 kt/a. The company estimates that this can be doubled by spending a further US$25 to US$29 million and is plan- ning to have this expansion in place by 2022. Apart from Montepuez, Battery Minerals is also pursuing its Balama Central project – which lies immediately to the west of Syrah’s Balama property – and anticipates completing a feasibility study in the second quarter of this year. While Balama Central could conceivably be the third new graphite mine in Cabo Delgado Province, a more likely candidate is Triton’s Ancuabe project, located 60 km west of Pemba. The company announced the results of a DFS – prepared by Lycopodium and other consultants – in mid-December 2017 and is targeting first production in the second half of 2019. As detailed in the DFS, Ancuabe would cost roughly US$100 million to build and would have the capacity to produce around 60 000 t/a of graphite concentrate, with the payback period being 3,8 years from first production. Triton describes the economics as “robust”, pointing to an average annual revenue of US$82,6 million and EBITDA margins averag- ing 53 % over the 27-year evaluation period. Triton’s tenements, incidentally, surround the historic – but small – Ancuabe graphite mine. German company AMG reopened the mine last year with the projected annual pro- duction being in the region of 9 000 tonnes. Yet another company with tenements in Cabo Delgado Province is ASX-listed Mustang Resources. Probably best known for its Montepuez ruby project, it also holds the Caula graphite project (see page 6) along strike from Balama, which it has described as a “spectacu- lar high-grade graphite discovery”. Caula is less advanced than the other projects mentioned above but a major step forward was taken recently when Mustang announced a maiden inferred mineral resource of 5,4 Mt at 13,0 % TGC (Total Graphitic Carbon) for 702 600 tonnes of contained graphite. Summing up, Mozambique now has two graphite mines in production (Balama and AMG’s Ancuabe operation) with at least another two mines likely to be commissioned within the next couple of years. Coal apart, Mozambique has a very small mining indus- try so the emergence of a healthy and vibrant graphite mining sector is a very welcome devel- opment indeed for the country. Arthur Tassell

The ‘epicentre’ of the graphite boom is

Mozambique and specifically Cabo Delgado Province in the north of the country.

January 2018  MODERN MINING  5

MINING News

Teranga reports record gold production in 2017

of a Feasibility Study (FS) on the project in September last year. Based on initial gold reserves of 1,2 Moz, the FS base case dem- onstrated solid project economics with a 15 % IRR at US$1 250/oz gold for a 2,4 Mt/a CIL processing facility modelled on the Sabodala plant. The FS estimated the pre- production capex at US$232 million. “Our operational focus on generating free cash flow at Sabodala is paying off,” said Richard Young, Teranga’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “With record mill throughput and positive reconcilia- tion to ore reserve estimates, Sabodala achieved record gold production for the second consecutive year and exceeded 2017 production guidance. Our five- year profile for Sabodala estimates free cash flow of US$230 million between 2018 and 2022, including approximately US$90 million in free cash flow over the next two years.” The company is forecasting gold pro- duction at Sabodala of between 210 000 and 225 000 ounces of gold in 2018. This compares favourably to the 2018 produc- tion estimate of 213 000 ounces outlined in the 2017 Sabodala 43-101 technical report filed on August 30, 2017. Located 650 km east of Dakar, Sabodala is currently the only commercial-scale gold mine in Senegal but others are on the way, notably Toro Gold’s Mako project. Sabodala is a conventional open-pit/CIL operation. Added Young, “We are excited about 2018. Our expectations are for another year of strong production and cash flow Whilst optimum recoveries were achieved from the initial testwork (oxide sample TGC = 87 % and fresh sample TGC = 96 %), TGC recoveries are expected to improve during future testwork phases through further flowsheet optimisation and recycling of intermediate tailings streams during locked cycle testing. Current testwork was all carried out under open- circuit conditions with the above recoveries excluding graphite from intermediate tail- ings streams. Mustang Interim Executive Chairman Ian Daymond said the latest results confirmed that Caula was a Tier 1 graphite project. flotation followed by three intermediate re-grind stages and five cleaner flotation stages.

The processing plant at the Sabodala gold mine in Senegal (photo: Teranga).

Teranga Gold Corporation, listed on the TSX, has reported record gold production of 233 267 ounces in 2017, exceeding the high end of its annual production guid- ance range of 205 000 to 225 000 ounces. Teranga owns the Sabodala gold mine in Senegal, which has been producing since 2010. Due to higher production and gold prices, the company ended the year with a strong cash position of approximately U$88 million, an increase of US$15 million from September 30, 2017. The company’s strong financial posi-

tion supports its ability to finance its next mine, Banfora, which has been renamed Wahgnion to reflect the wishes of the local community. Early works activities at Wahgnion are underway in the lead- up to closing a project debt facility and the commencement of mill construction, both anticipated to occur in the second quarter of 2018. Wahgnion is located in the south-west of Burkina Faso. The project was acquired in October 2016 as part of Teranga’ acqui- sition of ASX-listed Gryphon Minerals. Teranga announced the positive results These results are based on additional testwork (on both oxide and fresh samples) managed by Wave International (Wave) and Independent Metallurgical Operations (IMO), and conducted at the Metallurgy Pty Ltd laboratory. The testwork was aimed at providing additional information to enhance the upcoming scoping study. Samples were compiled from quarter diamond drill core samples collected during the recent (2016) resource drilling campaign at Caula. The same, simplified testwork flowsheet has now been utilised on both the oxide and fresh samples. It comprised an initial coarse grind to 0,71 mm, a deslime stage (by-passed on fresh), three-stage rougher

Metallurgical testwork returns positive results ASX-listed Mustang Resources reports that further metallurgical testwork on oxide and fresh samples taken from its 80 %-owned Caula graphite project (Licence 6678L) in northern Mozambique has provided more firm evidence of the quality of the min- eralisation. Caula is located along strike from Syrah Resources’ world-class Balama graphite project, which has now entered production.

The testwork produced an improved flake distribution on the oxide material, quantified the proportion of high revenue Super Jumbo (>500 µm) flake and improved the amorphous (<75 µm) grade from both oxide and fresh samples.

6  MODERN MINING  January 2018

MINING News

Roxgold receives permitting approval

Roxgold Inc, listed on the TSX, has announced that it has received permitting approval to develop the Bagassi South project from the Burkina Faso Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.

“We are extremely pleased to announce the permitting approval for the Bagassi South project. The approval of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for Bagassi South allows us to confirm our development decision and begin mine develop- ment and construction for our first growth project on the Yaramoko concession,” stated John Dorward, President and CEO of Roxgold. “We would like to thank the gov- ernment of Burkina Faso and our stakeholders in the communities for their continued support and look forward to continuing our positive working relationship.” Roxgold is continuing to advance the development of the Bagassi South project with underground mine development and construction activities commencing in the first quarter of 2018. With the approval of the ESIA, the company has filed an appli- cation for an extension of its Exploitation (Mining) Permit to include the Bagassi South deposits, which marks the final step in the permitting process. A decision regarding the extension from the Burkina Faso government is expected in the sec- ond quarter of 2018. In November 2017, Roxgold announced the positive results of the Feasibility Study (FS) for the Bagassi South project. The FS envisions a satellite underground opera- tion at Bagassi South and an expanded processing facility at Yaramoko. The proj- ect would produce an average annual gold production of 40 000 ounces over a mine life of 4,2 years at average all-in sustaining costs of US$630/oz. The FS esti- mates the pre-production capital cost at US$29,6 million. The project benefits from nearby cur- rent operations at the Yaramoko gold project including personnel and infra- structure (camps, water and high voltage grid power). The initial access to the deposit will be

via a single ramp from surface to the 5265 level (45 m below surface). The ramp will ultimately be developed to a depth of 260 m below surface (5055 level), provid- ing access to 15 sublevels on 15 m vertical intervals. The ramp will be centrally posi- tioned along strike and three ore blocks will be accessed by on-vein development to the deposit limits. Similar to the operating 55 Zone, min- ing will be conducted using long hole retreat stoping with cemented rock backfill used to eliminate non-recoverable pillars to maximise mining recovery to 93 %. The plant expansionwill increase capac- ity from 270 000 t/a to 400 000 t/a. The original design of the existing Yaramoko plant considered a future expansion and the necessary allowances weremade in the layout and mechanical equipment selec- tion to facilitate a modular type expansion. The expansion will include: installa- tion of a secondary crushing circuit with a throughput of 100 t/h; conversion of the SAG mill to a ball mill, achieving a throughput of 50,2 t/h; an upgrade of the CIL circuit, consisting of an additional two adsorption tanks and an 8-m diameter high rate thickener; and an expansion of the gravity circuit, designed to recover 70 % of head grade, consisting of an additional Acacia leach reactor and two electrowinning cells.  The Bagassi South deposit is located close to the existing Yaramoko infrastructure.

Drilling at the Wahgnion project in Burkina Faso (photo: Teranga). at Sabodala as well as continued organic growth. Our top priority is to close the financing and proceed with construc- tion of Wahgnion. In addition, we are aggressively advancing exploration pro- grammes at both Golden Hill in Burkina Faso and Afema in Côte d’Ivoire. With a long-life mine that provides solid annual gold production and free cash flow, a sec- ond mine in development and a pipeline of quality organic growth assets, we are well-positioned to deliver on our vision of becoming the next multi-asset mid-tier gold producer in West Africa.”  “These results are outstanding and will help underpin the impending scop- ing study. This minimal extra testwork conducted improves the oxide sample flake distribution, confirms the initial data within experimental limitations, provides the additional data on the higher value Super Jumbo Flake (+500 µm) stream and confirms a premium saleable amorphous (-75 µm) product can be produced from both oxide and fresh samples,” he stated. “Every round of work at Caula provides more evidence of the proj- ect’s potential to become a low-cost graphite supplier to the fast-growing lithium battery and expandable graph- ite industries.” 

January 2018  MODERN MINING  7

MINING News

The processing plant complex at Tharisa. Recoveries ran at record levels during the quarter (photo: Tharisa).

Tharisa makes a strong start to its 2018 financial year line with the preceding quarter.

Reporting on its results for the three months ended 31 December 2017 (Q1 FY2018), Tharisa says that during the period record tonnes were milled and record recoveries achieved. Chrome concentrate production was 365,8 kt, up 1,5 % quarter on quarter, and also a new record. With effect from 1 October 2017, the mine successfully transitioned from a mining contractor model to an owner mining model. Total reef mined from the open pit for the quarter was 1 245,3 kt, in

months to 31 December 2017 was US$865 (R11 827), which was US$40 an ounce higher than the US$825 (R10 866) achieved in the prior quarter. PGM basket prices continued to reflect improvements in spot palladium and rhodium prices with pal- ladium comprising 16,6 % and rhodium 9,4 % of the Tharisa basket. Contracted metallurgical grade chrome concentrate prices increased 4,1 % to US$179 per tonne from US$172 per tonne in the previous quarter due to improved liquidity and consistent stock levels at fer- rochrome and stainless steel producers in China. Current metallurgical chrome spot prices are above US$200 per tonne for February 2018 shipment. As at 29 December 2017, Chinese port stock levels were at 2,2 Mt, or approxi- mately two months’ supply into the ferrochrome and stainless steel industry. The market fundamentals for chrome remain sound with continued growth forecast for the global stainless steel industry. Specialty chrome concentrates, which comprise 24,1 % of Tharisa’s total chrome production, continued to attract a pre- mium above the contracted metallurgical chrome concentrate prices. Tharisa’s FY2018 production guid- ance remains at 150 koz PGMs and 1,4 Mt chrome concentrates, of which 350 kt will be specialty grade chrome concentrates. The near-term focus will be on continued operational improvements and the com- mencement of the Vision 2020 projects that will ensure Tharisa delivers 200 koz/a of PGMs and 2 Mt/a of chrome concen- trates by 2020. 

The focus during the quarter was on increased waste removal to ensure that sufficient reef was available in the optimal blend ahead of the processing plants. Total waste of approximately 2,7 million m 3 was moved during the quarter, 27 % of which was interburden (including top soil) at a stripping ratio of 7,8 on a m 3 basis. With the road diversion having been completed, the additional shallow area was mined resulting in both lower strip- ping and lower grades as oxidised ore was mined and processed. This area has now been substantially mined through and the reef strike length increased. The life- of-open-pit average stripping ratio is 9,7 on a m 3 basis. During the quarter, 1 310,2 kt were milled, resulting in PGM production of 38,8 koz on a 6E basis and chrome pro- duction of 365,8 kt, 88,1 kt of which are specialty grades. This represents a 1,5 % improvement in total chrome production and a 5,5 % increase in specialty grade pro- duction quarter on quarter. The focus on continued improvement resulted in improved PGM recoveries at 84,3 %, a new record above the targeted recoveries of 80,0 %. Chrome recoveries at 65,5 % also exceeded targeted recoveries of 65,0 %. With tonnes processed exceed- ing tonnes mined, the ore stockpiles ahead of the processing plants were partially utilised. As at 31 December 2017, the ore stockpiles ahead of the processing plants totalled 242,7 kt or approximately two weeks of plant throughput. The average PGM contained metal basket price (per ounce) for the three

Large diamonds recovered at Lucapa’s Lulo project Lucapa Diamond Company, listed on the ASX, and its partners, Endiama and Rosas & Petalas, have announced the recovery of more large diamonds from the Lulo diamond project in Angola. The latest recoveries include diamonds weighing 103 carats and 83 carats, both of which were recovered from Mining Block 8. The 103-carat light brown diamond and 83-carat Type IIa diamond continue to evi- dence the special nature and potential of the Lulo resource, says Lucapa. The 103-carat diamond is the ninth plus- 100-carat diamond recovered to date from Lulo, the largest being the Angolan record 404-carat ‘4th February Stone’ which sold for US$16 million in 2016. The latest large stone recoveries fol- low the recovery in November 2017 of two exceptional Type IIa D-colour gems weighing 129 carats and 78 carats. 

8  MODERN MINING  January 2018

MINING News

Metallon Corporation sells its Arcturus gold mine

Metallon Corporation, the gold mining, development and exploration company with producing assets in Zimbabwe, has sold its Arcturus mine. The mine, which has a gold resource of 1 Moz with explora- tion potential, was placed under care and maintenance in Q1 2016 with mining oper- ations suspended due to consistent losses. Arcturus is located 30 km east of Harare and is one of the oldest gold mines in Zimbabwe, with production having started over a century ago. Comments Ken Mekani, Chief Executive Officer of Metallon: “Metallon is pleased to announce the sale of Arcturus Mine to TN Securities, a Zimbabwean investment company. Metallon has four operating mines and over 8 million ounces of gold resources. The sale of Arcturus mine is in line with Metallon’s strategy to priori- tise our investments, focus resources and reduce costs. “The transaction provides the mine, which was on care and maintenance, with

Metallon has sold its Arcturus mine, seen here, to a Zimbabwean company (photo: Metallon).

have taken the decision to sell the mine to a Zimbabwean company in order to empower local investors. “As the leading gold mining company in Zimbabwe and a significant employer, Metallon is committed to operating and investing in Zimbabwe.” 

the opportunity for the resumption of operations, leading to job creation and increased gold output for the country. Arcturus is a robust asset with a significant gold resource and Metallon received offers from a number of potential investors, both from within Zimbabwe and abroad. We

Avesoro Resources turns in a strong performance Avesoro Resources Inc, the TSX- and AIM- listed West African gold producer, has announced production of 54 407 ounces of gold for the fourth quarter (to 31 December 2017) and 192 072 ounces of gold for the full year, across the three mines now owned by the company.

its revised guidance for the year. I would like to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of the New Liberty team throughout 2017 that enabled us to achieve record annual gold production. Q4 2017 was New Liberty’s strongest quarterly performance to date, driven by improved mining perfor- mance and increased plant throughput. “The acquisition of Youga and Balogo in December 2017 adds two low-cost oper- ating mines to our portfolio capable of generating significant free cash flow for the company. I am particularly pleased that we were able to complete this trans- action during 2017 and take an important step towards realising our stated plan of becoming a premier mid-tier African gold producer.” 

a 20 % increase on 2016 production levels. The Youga and Balogo mines in Burkina Faso, which were acquired by the company on 18 December 2017, produced 28 845 ounces of gold in the quarter, result- ing in strong full year total production of 115 893 ounces of gold, ahead of company forecasts. Serhan Umurhan, Chief Executive Officer of Avesoro, commented:“We are pleased to report a strong quarter and combined total production for 2017 of 192 072 ounces of gold from the three mines now owned by the company. At New Liberty, the year has been focused on the now completed turn- around resulting in the company meeting

Fourth quarter production from the New Liberty mine in Liberia was 25 563 ounces of gold, a 29 % increase on the previous quarter and in line with guidance provided at the time of the Q3 production update. The strong quarter resulted in record full year production from the mine of 76 179 ounces of gold, towards the upper end of Avesoro’s guidance range and representing

January 2018  MODERN MINING  9

MINING News

Ivanhoe Mines, listed on the TSX, has announced that ongoing upgrading work at the Mwadingusha hydropower plant in the DRC has almost tripled the plant’s interim power output from 11 to 32 MW. This represents 45 % of the plant’s designed capacity. Three of Mwadingusha’s six generators have now beenmodernised; the remaining three generators are due to be upgraded and fully operational by the end of 2019, restoring the plant to its installed output capacity of approximately 71 MW of power. The work at Mwadingusha, part of a programme to eventually overhaul and boost output from three hydropower plants, is being conducted by engineer- ing firm Stucky, of Lausanne, Switzerland, under the direction of Ivanhoe Mines and its joint-venture partner, Zijin Mining Group, in conjunction with the DRC’s state-owned power company, La Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL). Once fully reconditioned, the three plants will have installed capacity of approximately 200 MW of electricity for the national grid, which is expected to be more than suffi- cient for the Kamoa-Kakula copper project, Upgrade work triples hydropower plant’s output The Mwadingusha Dam, upstream from the hydropower plant (photo: Ivanhoe).

currently under development by Ivanhoe and its partners. Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s Executive Chairman, said a long-term, sustain- able supply of electricity was essential to Ivanhoe’s vision to develop Kamoa-Kakula in an environmentally and socially respon- sible manner. “The upgrading programme under- way at Mwadingusha is a significant private-public partnership venture between SNEL, Ivanhoe and Zijin, which is vital to secure sustainable, clean electric- ity for the Congolese people and for the tion costs, royalties, waste stripping costs and sustaining capital expenditure, are estimated at approximately US$625 per ounce in the first 3,25 years of production and approximately US$630 per ounce over the full mine life. Significant potential exists to increase Sissingué’s currently delineated mineral resources, ore reserves and mine life. Exploration programmes targeting miner- alisation located within trucking distance of the mine have been developed and are scheduled to be implemented once the mine is generating positive cash flows. 

Crushed ore introduced to Sissingué mill Perseus Mining, listed on the ASX and TSX, reports that the development and commis- sioning of its second gold mine, Sissingué, in Côte d’Ivoire, is nearing completion with the introduction of crushed ore to the mill and the CIL plant on 13 January 2018. First gold is expected to be produced at Sissingué ahead of schedule, prior to the end of January 2018, and the ramp up to full scale commercial production is expected to be achieved by 31 March 2018.

infrastructure, excluding early works but including operational readiness initiatives, was US$107 million and on current esti- mates this budget will not be exceeded. Based on the updated life of mine plan for Sissingué published in March 2017, estimated gold production totals 358 000 ounces over the life of mine including approximately 80 000 ounces per annum for the first 3,25 years and approximately 70 000 ounces per annum over the full five- year life of mine. Forecast average weighted all-in site costs, including all direct produc-

The estimated capital cost of the full development of the Sissingué mine and

10  MODERN MINING  January 2018

MINING News

Tango to acquire Botswana property

development of a Tier One copper mine at Kamoa-Kakula,” he said. “Hydropower, with its virtues of being clean and renewable, is the best energy solution to support our development priorities as we continue to look for ways to reduce our impact on the environ- ment and produce the copper the world requires.” Mwadingusha is the first of three hydropower plants that Ivanhoe and Zijin plan to upgrade. Upgrading of the other two existing hydroelectric power plants – Koni and Nzilo 1 – is expected to begin once Mwadingusha’s upgrading is completed. The Mwadingusha and Koni plants are in cascade, with Koni directly downstream from Mwadingusha on the Lufira River at the mouth of Lake Tshangalele, north of Likasi and approximately 250 km north- east of the Kamoa mine development site. The Nzilo 1 plant is on the Lualaba River, downstream of Nzilo Lake and north of the city of Kolwezi, approximately 40 km from Kamoa. 

of a 100 km 2 area of river terrace gravels containing diamonds and heavy mineral concentrations, mainly garnets and ilmen- ites. Although the diamond content of the gravels has never been assessed systemati- cally, diamonds of up to 0,55 carats were recovered. The source of diamonds in the gravels is not known but it could be the Molopo kimberlite cluster located immediately to the north-east. In addition, Falconbridge and Botswana Government airborne geo- physics over the property have defined geophysical targets which may be kimber- lites and the source of the diamonds. Tango holds an interest in the Oena diamond mine, a producing alluvial dia- mond property located in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. It also has a three-year renewable ‘Risk Services Agreement for Mining of Diamonds’ with Txapemba Canguba RL, which was granted an 84 km 2 concession within the Luembe River basin, Angola. 

Tango Mining, listed on the TSX-V, is to acquire a 75 % unencumbered interest in an alluvial diamond property in Botswana called the Middlepits project from Metswedi Mining (Pty) Ltd. Tango will be responsible for all further exploration and development expenditures on the prop- erty upon closing. The property is located 470 km south- west of Gaborone and 90 km south-west of Tshabong in the Kgalagadi District. It consists of one Prospecting Licence (PL) and was explored between 1974 and 1976 by De Beers, between 1978 and 1980 by Falconbridge and between 1993 and 1997 by Southern Africa Minerals Corporation. The exploration work by De Beers iden- tified an occurrence of diamondiferous gravels in the centre of the property. The diamondiferous gravels were evaluated by both hand augering and digging and were then screened and processed for dia- monds and heavy minerals. The work resulted in the identification

January 2018  MODERN MINING  11

MINING News

Battery Minerals reaches “major milestone”

it reflects the quality of the Montepuez product, it highlights the outstanding future of the project and it underpins the sale of a significant share of our forecast production. “With our A$20 million capital raising recently completed, engineering studies progressing rapidly and now binding sales agreements in place, we are firmly on track to start construction in the next quarter and be commissioning in December 2018. “We will also be working with Urbix to develop and market the products to sell into the US battery market. Ongoing market develop- ment will include optimising development of a spherical graphite for use as anode material in lithium-ion batteries as part of an international marketing strategy.” The Montepuez mine – which will have a life of plus 10 years – will initially pro- duce between 45 000 and 50 000 t/a of graphite flake concentrate, targeting an average flake concentrate grade of 96,7 % Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC). As Battery Minerals executes subsequent expansions, it expects production to grow to over 100 kt/a by 2022. The first shipment from the project is expected in the first quarter of 2019. The pre-production capex for the proj- ect is US$42,3 million. A further US$25 million to US$30 million will need to be invested for an additional 40 to 50 kt/a of production.  interpretation was successfully tested. This new interpretation greatly enhances our understanding of and model development at GSS and will form the basis of contin- ued drilling. This interpretation will also direct our regional exploration at Block 14 in 2018.” The Revised PEA of Block 14 (the results of which were released in May 2017), using a gold price of US$1 100/oz for mine design and US$1 200/oz for economic analysis, showed a project with in-pit min- eral resources of 41,0 Mt at 1,46 g/t for 1 928 koz in the indicated category and 3,4 Mt at 1,56  g/t for 173 koz in the inferred category and a mill throughput of 3,4 Mt/a. The PEA indicates that the project would have an average annual production of 135 koz/a over a LOM of just over 13 years. Orca is, however, examining mill through- put options up to 6 Mt/a. 

Transport route for the Montepuez project. A bulk sample fromMontepuez was delivered to Pemba in 2017, demonstrating – says Battery – that the 260-km logistics route is now proven.

ASX-listed Battery Minerals (Battery) says it has reached another major milestone in its strategy to become a global graphite supplier to the lithium battery industry, signing a binding sales agreement with a leading US-based graphite processor. The binding offtake agreement covers up to 11 000 tonnes of graphite concen- trate per year, equal to more than 20 % of the initial forecast annual output from Battery’s Montepuez project in northern Mozambique. The offtake agreement – for a three- year term starting in 2019 – is with Urbix Resources LLC, a privately-owned com-

pany based in Arizona. Urbix is reported to have extensive expertise in purification, downstream processing and marketing of graphite. In addition to the offtake agreement, Battery Minerals has also signed a binding Test-work Term Sheet and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering toll treatment and technology commercialisa- tion with Urbix. Battery’s Executive Chairman, David Flanagan, said the binding offtake agree- ment marked another key milestone along the path to project development and cash- flow. “This deal is pivotal for three reasons: 131 m at 1,73 g/t Au; and 82 m at 2,21 g/t Au. True widths are between 50 % and 70 % of intercept width. Significant results were also obtained in the Main Zone of the deposit including 48 m at 2,76 g/t in Hole GSDD042 and 50 m grading 2,75 g/t in GSDD047. These are expected to have a positive impact on the resource estimate. “The latest holes from Block 14 con- tinue to strongly support an expansion of the resource base,” comments Rick Clark, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Orca. “Results are with our consultants and a new resource estimate is expected shortly, which will form the basis of the Feasibility Study on track for completion in early Q2 2018. These new results are partic- ularly significant in that a new geological

Orca reports more good drill results from Block 14 Orca Gold Inc, listed on the TSX-V, has announced the remaining results from 2017 drilling at its Block 14 gold project in the north of Sudan. Sudan is reported to be the second biggest gold producer in Africa, with an estimated production in 2017 of just over 100 tons of gold, all of it from arti- sanal and small-scale producers.

To date, 12 449 m (34 holes) of diamond drilling and 2 500 m (12 holes) of reverse circulation drilling have been completed at Galat Sufar South (GSS) as part of an ongo- ing 25 000-m drilling campaign. Drilling tested a new geological interpretation in the East Zone drilling per- pendicular to earlier drill sections. These new holes were successful in intersecting good grade and continuity over significant widths, including: 162 m at 2,01 g/t Au;

12  MODERN MINING  January 2018

MINING News

A night view of the Yanfolila processing plant (photo: Hummingbird).

Mali’s newest mine pours its first gold and all Malian stakeholders for their huge commitment and extraordinary efforts on our journey to turn Hummingbird, as a company, and Yanfolila specifically into a gold producer.

been drawn from the CIL circuit and is cur- rently undergoing elution ahead of further ongoing production.” Betts said that nearly 2 million man hours had been expended on the project, adding that it had involved the erection of over 1 600 tonnes of structural steel and plant equipment, the installation of over 20 kilometres of piping and the pouring over 4 000 m 3 of concrete. “Looking forward to 2018, Humming­ bird is committed to not only delivering name-plate production at Yanfolila but also demonstrating the growth potential of Yanfolila through the continued con- version of already discovered resources, of which there are over 1 million ounces outside the current mine plan, to mineable reserves,” he said. 

AIM-listed Hummingbird Resources’ Yanfolila gold mine in southern Mali poured its first gold from the carbon- in-leach circuit (CIL) on 19 December. Hummingbird is now focused on complet- ing commissioning and ramping up to commercial production, targeting approxi- mately 130 000 oz of gold in the first full year of operations. Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird, commented: “Producing first gold from Yanfolila is Hummingbird’s most significant achievement to date and we have deliv- ered it on time and on budget. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Hummingbird team, our shareholders, con- tractors, advisers, the Government of Mali

“All major elements of the plant are working to specification, including the crushing, milling and detox circuits, with early recoveries from the CIL circuit show- ing around 95 %, which is excellent in terms of start-up performance. “Our initial pour was from early low loaded carbon purposefully withdrawn from the circuit to test the elution and elec- trowinning circuits, which was successful. As a result, carbon loaded to design speci- fication of greater than 2 000 ppm has

January 2018  MODERN MINING  13

MINING News

The processing plant at the Fekola gold mine in Mali (photo: B2Gold).

B2Gold Corporation’s new Fekola gold mine in Mali produced 111 450 ounces in 2017 (including 79 243 ounces of pre- commercial production), far surpassing the upper end of its original guidance range (of 45 000 to 55 000 ounces) due to its early start-up and strong ramp-up performance. Fekola’s contribution helped B2Gold record consolidated gold production in 2017 – for the ninth consecutive year – B2Gold’s African mines perform strongly of 630 565 ounces of gold, exceeding the upper end of the revised guidance range (of 580 000 to 625 000 ounces) and surpassing the top end of the original guid- ance range (of 545 000 to 595 000 ounces). B2Gold expects its full-year 2017 consol- idated cash operating costs per ounce and AISC per ounce to be at, or below, the low end of its cost guidance ranges of between U$610 and U$650 per ounce and between U$940 and U$970 per ounce, respectively.

Construction of the Fekola mine was successfully completed in late September 2017, more than three months ahead of the original schedule, and the mine achieved commercial production on November 30, 2017, one month ahead of the revised schedule and four months ahead of the original schedule. Also contributing to B2Gold’s strong performance in 2017 was its Otjikoto mine in Namibia, which enjoyed a record year, producing 191 534 ounces of gold which exceeded the upper end of its revised pro- duction guidance range by 6 % (or 11 534 ounces) and the top end of its original pro- duction guidance range by 9 % (or 16 534 ounces). Gold production was also 15 % (or 25 249 ounces) higher versus 2016. Otjikoto’s outperformance in 2017 was mainly the result of better than expected high-grade ore tonnage from theWolfshag Phase 1 pit and higher than expected mill throughput. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Otjikoto produced 52 446 ounces of gold, exceeding both budgeted and reforecast production by 10 % (or 4 655 ounces). B2Gold says it is well positioned to achieve transformational growth in 2018. With the planned first full year of pro- duction from Fekola, consolidated gold production for the year is forecast to be between 910 000 and 950 000 ounces. This represents an increase in annual consolidated gold production of approxi- mately 300 000 ounces for B2Gold in 2018 versus 2017. 

Mining operations restart at Namoya in DRC Banro Corporation reports that mining operations at its Namoya gold mine in the DRC have recommenced as a result of the re-establishment of the road access to the mine. The company says it intends to pro- gressively ramp up production at Namoya during January.

commercial production in September 2012 and January 2016 respectively. The company’s longer-term objectives include the development of two additional major, wholly-owned gold projects, Lugushwa and Kamituga. The four projects, each of which has a mining licence, are located along the 210-km long Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the DRC’s South Kivu and Maniema provinces. In November 2017 Banro said in a state- ment that it continued to face “significant ongoing, operational and financial chal- lenges including short and long-term liquidity constraints” and that its ability to continue operations in the normal course of business was dependent on several factors, including securing funding for operations and to meet upcoming debt servicing and working capital requirements. 

As Banro reported in a September 25, 2017 press release, the suspension of min- ing operations at the Namoya mine was due to the activities of local groups, which took control over certain areas along the sole supply road to Namoya and shut down tran- sit. The impact of those activities resulted in the depletion of essential operating stock and supplies, leading to the temporary sus- pension of mining operations at Namoya. Banro is a Canadian gold mining com- pany focused on production from the Twangiza and Namoya mines, which began

14  MODERN MINING  January 2018

MINING News

Boungou mine development 75 % complete

SEMAFO Inc, listed on the TSX, is continuing to make good prog- ress on its new US$231 million Boungou mine in south-eastern Burkina Faso and announced on 20 December that the project was 75 % complete and remained on budget for commissioning in the third quarter of 2018. As at November 30, 2017, over 90 % of the total concrete required had been poured and some 60 % of the structural steel and 30%of themechanical instal- lation completed. Installation of the SAG mill was well advanced and the tailings storage facility was 60 % complete. Pre-stripping was continuing at the Boungou deposit with 8,3 million of the

will be 20 m-wide at a 10 % gradient. The open-pit reserve totals 9,6 Mt grading 4,14 g/t gold. A five-year mining contract has been signed with AMS, which will ulti- mately deploy a fleet that will include two Komatsu PC1250 excavators, two Komatsu PC2000 face shovels, and 13 Komatsu HD605 haul trucks. The ore will be treated in a 4 000 tonnes per day (t/d) CIP plant. Boungou will have a mine life of plus seven years and will produce an average of plus 226 000 oz of gold annually during The Boungou processing plant under construction (photo: SEMAFO).

projected 18 million tonnes extracted. Approximately 1 832 personnel including contractors were employed on site and 3,3 million man-hours had been worked without a lost-time injury. The EPCM contractor for the project is Lycopodium and the mining contractor African Mining Services (AMS), a subsidiary of Ausdrill Limited. The Boungou deposit will mined from three distinct pits with mining taking place on 6 m benches. Haulage ramps

its first three years of production at a low AISC of US$374/oz. The payback period is estimated at 1,5 years. Boungouwill be SEMAFO’s secondmine in Burkina Faso. Its first, Mana, is located 260 km south-west of Ouagadougou and is reportedly the third largest mine in the country. It has produced some 1,6 Moz since its first gold pour in 2008. The gold plant has been expanded four times since commissioning to a current capacity of over 7 200 t/d.  mented: “2017 was a year of delivery for Rainbow which saw us hit all of our targets on budget and on schedule to become a high-grade concentrate producer at the only producing rare earths mine in Africa. 2018 is set to be a year of growth with commercial production and sales now underway. “With the forecast demand in elec- tric vehicles driving the growth for REEs and a strong cash balance following an over-subscribed institutional fundraising in December, we are in an excellent posi- tion to accelerate development at Gakara. As such we are now commencing a drill programme to include the four exciting anomalies we identified in Q4 2017 and with a view to potentially delivering a maiden JORC resource in the second half of 2018 and reaching our new production tar- get of 6 000 t/a during 2019. I look forward to reporting on our exploration programme as we continue to ramp up production at Gakara over the course of 2018.” 

Drill programme kicks off at Gakara project London-listed Rainbow, the high-grade rare earth producer, reports the commence- ment of a drilling programme at its Gakara project in Burundi with the objective of supporting the mine plan for the currently productive areas of the licence and explor- ing the significant geological anomalies identified in 2017.

tially 22 m thick and 80 m x 100 m in size was discovered by a ground gravity survey last year. Should these drill results prove posi- tive, a second phase of drilling will take place during Q2 and Q3 2018, with the aim of producing a JORC-compliant resource statement in H2 2018. Following the announcement of the first shipment of concentrate on 5 December 2017, a further two shipments have now taken place. Production ramp-up has been proceeding according to plan, with the tar- get of hitting a run rate of 5 000 t/a by the end of 2018. In addition, work has begun to procure the capital equipment needed to increase production more rapidly, following the suc- cessful fundraising concluded in December 2017. Martin Eales, CEO of Rainbow, com-

Gakara is one of the highest grade rare earth element mining projects globally, with an estimated in situ grade of 47-67 % Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO). Drilling contractors have been engaged and the first phase of the drilling pro- gramme will continue through Q1 2018. It will focus on improving the understanding of the current production area at Gasagwe as well as exploring the geophysical anom- alies identified by the airborne survey completed in November 2017, plus Kiyenzi, where a large sill-like oval structure poten-

January 2018  MODERN MINING  15

MINING News

Loadscan’s first off-the-grid solar-powered Load Volume Scanner (LVS) system is reportedly proving successful at Teranga Gold’s Sabodala mine in Senegal. The gold-mining operation purchased Loadscan’s LVS-3TMM and commissioned the company to manufacture and supply its first 24-hour solar system to measure the quantity of gold-bearing ore carted by trucks from other mine sites in the area to the processing facility. The LVS system utilises laser scanning and RFID technologies combined with software that creates 3D model images of Solar-powered load scanning at gold mine trucks to measure the exact volume of the material loaded in a truck or trailer bin. The solar system generates power dur- ing the day and charges a battery pack that powers the scanner throughout the night. It has an option to connect to mains power or a generator to power and recharge the batteries if the solar genera- tion is not enough to keep them topped up. To date, it has been completely self- sufficient: running off-grid with all power coming from the solar system. The trucks have RFID tags so that they automatically get identified by the LVS system.

Carey West, MD of Loadscan, said, “It was an interesting and fulfilling project configuring the solar system to Teranga Gold’s requirements. It was a first for the team at Loadscan, and we’re proud to have produced a fully portable, self-contained solar system that has proven to deliver power and keep the LVS system working 24-hours a day without interruption. “The LVS system was out in a remote location. With the nearest power 1,5 km away, the power cables would have needed to be trenched underground and would have been costly to install. With the Loadscan solar system in opera- tion, the mine site did not need to trench power cables out to the scan- ner or need to run a generator every day where maintenance and constant refuelling would have become expen- sive and unreliable.” The scanner is connected to the main office by point-to-point wi-fi. The data from the scanner is transferred directly back to the office via the wi-fi system where staff use Loadscan’s Overview reporting software. Loadscan’s LVS-3TMM is a fast and fully mobile truck measure- ment and load scanning solution. According to Loadscan, a New Zealand-headquartered company, the self-contained mobile truck measure- ment system can be driven to site and be setup and operational in as little as 45 minutes.  company is Tshukudu Metals Botswana. MOD’s Managing Director, Julian Hanna, said the big widths of copper, high- grade intercepts, numerous regional drill targets, and continued strength in copper prices provided the company with a very compelling start to 2018. “MOD is punching well above its weight and while we may currently have a modest market cap, our drill results are competitive with some of the largest copper compa- nies,” he said. “MOD is gearing up for its biggest year ever in 2018 and we look for- ward to announcing new results from the ramped-up exploration campaign and fea- sibility studies in the next few months.” 

Loadscan’s first off-the-grid solar powered Load Volume Scanner (LVS) system is proving successful at Teranga’s Sabodala property in Senegal.

Record high-grade intersection at T3 deposit high-grade vein mineralisation within and outside the planned 10-year open-pit mine (T3 Pit project).

MOD Resources, listed on the ASX, has announced a record high-grade drill intersection at its T3 copper project in Botswana’s Kalahari Copperbelt. The record intersection is part of the lat- est assay results from MOD’s resource infill drilling programme at T3. Hole MO‑G‑94D returned an impressive intersection of 18 m at 4,3 % Cu and 94 g/t Ag from 146 m downhole depth within a wide zone of 53,9 m at 2,0 % Cu and 40 g/t Ag from 128,5 m downhole depth. MOD commenced the T3 infill and extension drilling programme (Phase 2) in August 2017 to test the potential for additional resource extensions including

Thehigh-grade intersection inMO‑G‑94D occurs near the middle of the T3 Pit project, approximately 100 m above an intersec- tion of 72,6 m at 1,5 % Cu and 27 g/t Ag in MO-G-65D from 250 m downhole depth (announced in March 2017), below the current planned pit design. Recent results include additional significant intersections outside the planned pit design, supporting the T3 Underground project. T3 is part of the joint venture (JV) between MOD (70 %) and AIM-listed Metal Tiger (30 %). MOD’s in-country operating

16  MODERN MINING  January 2018

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