Modern Mining January 2018

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