Modern Mining July 2018

July 2018 Vol 14 No 7 www.crown.co.za M ODERN MINING

IN THIS ISSUE…  Sasol officially opens Shondoni  Technology gives Kumba the edge  Bibiani presents “growth opportunity”  The emerging Kalahari Copperbelt

MODERN M I N I N G

CONTENTS

JULY 2018

ARTICLES

COVER 18 Automated low-profile cable bolter launched by Sandvik COAL 22 Sasol inaugurates Shondoni GOLD 29 Bibiani presents “compelling growth opportunity” for Resolute IRON ORE 30 Technology drives down costs at Kumba COUNTRY FOCUS: BOTSWANA 34 Kalahari Copperbelt about to realise its full potential 40 The incredible Karowe story

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

Darryl James Circulation Brenda Grossmann 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

REGULARS MINING NEWS 4

Gamsberg zinc project now commissioning

6 7 8 9

Acacia turns in strong Q2 operating performance

Magnummakes“significant progress”at Gravelotte

Sanbrado to be a plus 200 000 oz/a gold producer

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Exxaro breaks ground on Belfast coal project 10 Syama Underground to be an autonomous mine 10 Obituary – Dr Oskar Steffen 12 Boungou produces its first gold 13 Katoro Gold to acquire Kibo Nickel 14 B2Gold increases its exploration budget for Fekola 16 Goldstone sinks shaft to access historic mine 17 Balama graphite project continues its ramp-up PRODUCT NEWS 44 Heavy-duty lifter bar helps optimise mill performance 44 Smartcom® system offers“absolute dependability” 46 South African electric vehicle OEM launched 47 Epiroc products boost drilling productivity 48 Cullinan and BME in blasting collaboration 50 Innovative reagents maximise metal recovery 50 Johnson adds access platforms/telehandlers to fleet 51 Fuel injection systems require calibration 52 Heavy lift by Concord at Richards Bay 52 Geobank Mobile expands integration capabilities

Cover Sandvik has launched the DS221L rock-reinforcement cable bolter with one-hole drilling, which it believes will significantly improve safety and productivity in underground mining operations. See page 18 for further details.

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Average circulation (January–March 2018) 5026

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July 2018  MODERN MINING  1

COMMENT

Tati Belt’s mysterious wall

W hile attending the recent Botswana Resource Sector Conference (BRSC) in Gabo- rone, I happened to bump into Mike Main. Although he was representing Walkabout Resources, an Australian explorer with graphite, lithium and coal assets in Tanzania, Namibia and Botswa- na respectively, he is a well-known writer with a number of books to his name, mostly dealing with Botswana. Hi s pub l i c a t i ons i nc l ude Af r i can Adventurer’s Guide: Botswana and Kalahari – Life’s Variety in Dune and Delta . The latter was originally published back in the 1980s but I would venture to say that it remains the best single volume guide to the Kalahari you’re ever likely to find. He also recently contributed a chapter (in collaboration with well-known geologist, Mike de Wit) on Botswana’s Tsodilo Hills area to Africa’s Top Geological Sites , a commemorative volume which was published to accompany the 35th International Geological Congress held in Cape Town in 2016. Mike presented me with a conundrum that has stumped me. He has come across a wall – which he describes as a “remarkable structure” – in the Tati Greenstone Belt near Francistown in Botswana. It is somewhat reminiscent of the walls at Great Zimbabwe but could be of more recent origin and, as he says in a follow-up e-mail to me, he would be very interested to know who built it, when they built it and to what purpose. Describing the structure in his e-mail, he says it is “almost hidden in thick bush and is crafted with local stone, clearly by an expert. It

is approximately 7 m tall, 5 m from left to right and tapers from bottom to top. It is about 2,3 m thick at the bottom.” He continues: “It is built on a sloping hill and, immediately on its downhill side, there has been created an excavated space in the hill at least the height of the wall in depth. (In other words, if something were dropped from the top of the wall, say, it would free-fall at least 14 m before hitting the ground). Wider than the wall, this ‘wedge-shaped’ removed section becomes about 10 m wide some distance away from the wall and extends some 80 to 90 m at right angles from the base of the wall.” As Mike points out, the locality was the site of Southern Africa’s first modern gold discov- ery in 1868 which saw the development of a small, primitive mining village – ‘Old Tati Town’ – that barely survived until the 1890s when it was finally abandoned. Although there was some subsequent gold mining about 6 km from the site, for the most part the area has since been primarily cattle range land. Mike adds that there are two piles of quartz- ite rocks within 150 m of the upper side of the wall and speculates on whether there might be a connection – perhaps related to mining activ- ity – between the quartzite and the wall. When I chatted with Mike in Gaborone, he said that he had spoken to mining engineers and geologists in the Francistown area, none of whom could make more than educated guesses as to the origins and purpose of the wall. So, if there are any readers out there who can shed more light on the structure, he would be inter- ested to hear from you. He can be contacted on e-mail mmain@info.bw . Arthur Tassell

It is somewhat reminiscent of the walls at Great Zimbabwe but could be of more recent origin.

Front and side views of the wall in the Tati Greenstone Belt.

July 2018  MODERN MINING  3

MINING News

Gamsberg zinc project now commissioning A recent view of the Gamsberg processing plant (photo: VZI).

Vedanta Zinc International (VZI), a subsid- iary of London-listed Vedanta Resources, repor ts that commissioning of its Gamsberg project near Aggeneys in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province has begun. The project is one of the largest greenfield mining projects in Africa. Waste pre-stripping was completed by the end of June 2018 and ore production has commenced. In total, 67,2 million tons of waste has been pre-stripped, against an initial target of 68 million tons, and 487 000 tons of ore has already beenmined, against an initial target of a 500 000-ton ore stock- pile before plant commissioning. The team is consistently achieving a mining produc- tion rate of 4 to 4,5 million tons per month of overall rock mining and this is expected to continue into the operational phase of the project. Plant and infrastructure construc- tion activity peaked in the first quarter of 2018/19, with almost 3 000 personnel employed at the project site. Of those employed on site, 1 050 are from the Northern Cape and 550 from the local Khai-Ma municipality.

Run of mine (ROM) pad under construction (photo: VZI). The necessary water and power infra- structure (a 38 km water pipeline with pumping and storage facilities and 20 km of powerlines with amain receiving substa- tion) has been successfully commissioned

and is now delivering water and power at the required capacity. Construction of the 117 ha HDPE-lined Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) is complete and it is ready to receive tailings. Cold commissioning of the

4  MODERN MINING  July 2018

MINING News

Avesoro updates resource and reserve estimate for Youga

first section of the plant, comprising the crusher and the conveying systems, is also complete. Gamsberg has just begun feeding ore to the front end of the plant (run-of-mine crusher, conveyor and coarse ore stockpile sections) to build the required crushed ore stockpile. The building up of crushed ore stock in readiness for feeding ore to the mills and downstream flotation and dewatering sections of the plant is sched- uled for the end of July, which is when the important milestone of first ore feed to the semi-autogenous and ball mills should be achieved. Thereafter, first product from the concentrator plant filter is expected by early September. The ‘business partner’ for the concen- trator plant operations and maintenance is fully mobilised on site and is engaged in commissioning activities. VZI says the death of a business part- ner employee at the end of May has led to a renewed focus on safety. Immediately after the tragedy, the company took a number of decisions beyond those required by the regulator, including sus- pending construction operations at the plant and intensive safety retraining of all business partner employees across the entire site. Including the time taken for ramping operations down and then back up again, this has meant that some con- struction timelines have been affected, by up to two weeks. Around 90 % of Gamsberg’s perma- nent operational staff, expected to be a total of 700, have already been recruited and ‘on-boarded’ in readiness for the com- mencement of full operations. Gamsberg is targeting both the pro- duction of saleable concentrate and the first truck shipment of that concentrate by the end of Q2 2018/19 (September 2018). Ramp up to the full 4 Mt/a is expected within 9-12 months from the first ore feed. The operations team is fully on-boarded and is working to ensure a smooth opera- tional ramp up. The Gamsberg Smart Ore Movement digitalisation project announced in November 2017 is on track to go live during August – it will provide real-time stockpile and blending management solutions to de-risk the ramp up of the concentrator. Vedanta says that implementation of the Social and Labour Plan (SLP) is progressing in line with original commitments. 

Azeez, who has more than 17 years of project management experience in inter- national engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) lump sum and reimburs- able projects, recently won the prestigious 2018 European Woman in Construction & Engineering award for best project manager. She brings a wide range of skills to the region that include commercial and contract management, project execution strategy, cost management and profit enhancement, team building and leadership.   “I am looking forward to confirming the status of the Fluor South African office as a centre of excellence for EPC services in Sub- Saharan Africa. We have a proven team of professionals working across energy and chemicals, mining and metals, power and life sciences business sectors here on the African continent,” said Azeez. Fluor is a global engineering, pro- Avesoro Resources Inc has announced the results of an updated mineral resource and mineral reserve estimate for its Youga gold mine in Burkina Faso. The total mineral reserve has increased by 29 %, or 147,4 koz to 660,1 koz of gold while the total measured and indicated mineral resource has increased by 15 % to 924,2 koz of gold grading 1,73 g/t Au. As a result, mine life has been extended by two years to 2027, with total forecast gold production of 614 koz. Pre-tax NPV has increased by 42 % to US$188,3 million and post-tax NPV to US$151,6 million. LOM all- in-sustaining costs have been reduced to US$920/oz. Further mineral resource and mineral reserve upgrades at Youga are expected to be announced in Q1 2019 from ongoing infill drilling programmes with six diamond drill rigs currently active. Commenting, Serhan Umurhan, CEO of Avesoro Resources, said: “This updated mineral resource and mineral reserve esti- mate for Youga consolidates the results of the successful 2017 drilling campaign

undertaken in Burkina Faso, and increases the mineral resources and reserves at the Youga mine itself as well as at the high grade Balogo deposit that provides ore to the Youga processing plant.” He said the latest upgrade of resources and reserves was viewed as an interim step. “We have added substantially to the value of the Youga gold mine since the company acquired it for US$70,2 million in December 2017 and – with our ongoing drilling programme of 139 000 metres in Burkina Faso this year – we fully expect to add further years to the Youga life of mine. “In anticipation of further growth in mineral reserves, we are evaluating options for optimising the Youga process plant to allow the 2018 annual production guidance of 110 – 120 koz to be main- tained in subsequent years by increasing mill throughput.” Avesoro, which also operates the New Liberty Gold Mine in Liberia, is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM market operated by the London Stock Exchange. 

Fluor appoints new General Manager in South Africa Tolani Azeez has been appointed General Manager for Fluor in South Africa, based in Woodmead, Johannesburg.

Tolani Azeez, Fluor South Africa’s first female GM.

curement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company and has been opera- tional in Africa for thanmore than 57 years. 

July 2018  MODERN MINING  5

MINING News

The processing plant at the Bulyanhulu gold mine. Bulyanhulu is an underground mine but all current gold production is from the retreatment of tailings as a result of the move to reduced operations at the mine in late 2017 (photo: Acacia). Acacia turns in strong Q2 operating performance

At Bulyanhulu, all gold production continued to be from the retreatment of tailings as a result of the move to reduced operations at the mine in late 2017. As a result, gold production for the quar- ter amounted to 10 443 ounces, 82 % below Q2 2017’s overall production result (59 196 ounces), but 18 % higher than production from tailings retreatment in Q2 2017 (8 856 ounces). “In achieving first half production of 254 759 ounces, we are on track to achieve the top end of our guidance range of 435 000-475 000 ounces for 2018 and con- tinue to demonstrate the resilience that we have built within our business,” says Peter Geleta, Acacia’s Interim CEO. Acacia has been in dispute with the Tanzanian government over a ban on the export of metallic mineral concentrates and tax assessments. In September last year it announced its intention to move to reduced operations at Bulyanhulu. In its results for 2018, released in February this year, Acacia said that it had unsold concentrate containing 185 800 ounces of gold, 12,1 million pounds of copper and 158 900 ounces of silver stockpiled in Tanzania. Negotiations between Acacia and the Tanzanian government to resolve the disputes are ongoing. 

LSE-listed Acacia Mining, which operates the Bulyanhulu, North Mara and Buzwagi gold mines in north-west Tanzania, has reported what it describes as ”another strong operating performance” in the sec- ond quarter of 2018, delivering a total gold production of 133 778 ounces. Group gold production for the quarter of 133 778 ounces was a 36 % decrease on Q2 2017 (208 533 ounces), primarily driven by the move to reduced operations at Bulyanhulu and to stockpile processing at Buzwagi. Gold ounces sold for the quar- ter of 134 090 ounces were slightly above

Management, and is currently working on his Doctoral studies, is a full-time resident of Zimbabwe and a Zimbabwean national with over 25 years’ experience in the min- ing industry. Of this, more than 22 years has been focused on diamond mining both in Zimbabwe and internationally, including 11 years with Debswana, the joint ven- ture company between De Beers and the Government of Botswana. More recently, Mabhudhu has served as CEO of government-owned Zimbabwe Con­ solidated Diamond Company (Pvt) Ltd and as CEO of Marange Resources (Pvt) Ltd.  gold produced for the quarter as a result of the timing of shipments. At North Mara, gold production for the quarter of 85 920 ounces was 3 % higher than Q2 2017 (83 110 ounces) mainly due to 4 % higher head grades compared to Q2 2017, driven by higher grades from Gokona Underground. At Buzwagi, gold production of 37 415 ounces for Q2 2018 was 44 % lower than in Q2 2017 (66 227 ounces) as a result of production now being derived solely from lower grade ore stockpiles due to the effec- tive completion of the open pit.

Diamond expert joins board of Vast Resources Vast Resources, the AIM-listed mining com- pany with operating mines in Romania and Zimbabwe, has appointed Mark Mabhudhu, a prominent figure in the Zimbabwean diamond industry, to the board of Vast’s wholly owned subsidiary, Vast Resources Zimbabwe (Private) Limited. Mabhudhu’s appointment is in line with Vast’s updated strategy to increase its footprint in Zimbabwe, seeking new opportunities and revitalising historic claims.

Mabhudhu, who has a BSc (Hons) degree in metallurgical engineering, an MBA, an MPhil in Information & Knowledge

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MINING News

Magnummakes “significant progress” at Gravelotte

Phase 1 of the trial mining campaign at the Gravelotte emerald project in South Africa has recovered 11 774,8 carats of emeralds to date from the treatment of 256 tonnes of dump material at an average recovered grade of 46 carats per tonne, says ASX- listed Magnum Mining in an update on the project. In late February this year, Magnum com- menced the Phase 1 programmewhichwas to mine and crush 2 112 tonnes of mate- rial sourced from four historic low grade and waste rock dumps (‘dumps’) on site. The programme was designed to provide critical data for the design of a trial mining processing plant which would then lead to the potential re-establishment of commer- cial mining operations at Gravelotte. The key objectives of phase 1 of the trial mining operation were therefore to:  recover a sample of emeralds of a suf- ficient quantity to enable a commercial appraisal and valuation of Gravelotte emeralds to be made;  determine the optimumcrushingmeth- odologies to maximise the liberation of emeralds from the host rock, whilst minimising damage to the emeralds;  determine the optimum ore processing plant design to maximise recoveries of emeralds; and  assess the relative viability of tradi- tional hand sorting methods versus modern optical sorting alternatives for the recovery of emeralds from the pro- cessed ore. Based on the results of the Phase 1 pro- gramme, Magnum believes it has made significant progress in assessing each of these key objectives. This now allows a final costing and timetable for the con- struction of a trial mining processing plant to commence. Phase 2 of the trial mining programme – which will be to treat to treat around 8 000 tonnes of hard rock material – will begin once the processing plant has been constructed. The current treatment methodol- ogy employed on site is for the ore to be washed over a 3 mm screen to remove the minus 3 mmmaterial and clean up the ore for hand sorting and recovery. In a positive implication for the poten- tial commercial operation, the testing to date indicates that a significant percentage

View of the Gravelotte site. During the 1960s, Gravelotte was reputedly the largest mine of its type in the world, employing over 400 sorters (photo: Magnum).

The processing plant will also require sizing of various ore fractions to accommo- date the maximum efficiency parameters of the optical sorter. The plant has now been conceptu- ally designed and specifications have been completed. Magnum is currently assessing the design and specifications to ensure they are appropriate for a trial mining plant. The company says it is cur- rently scoping various service providers for indicative pricing and timing. 

of the crushed ore reports to the minus 3 mm fraction which, even when emerald- bearing, has little to no commercial value. This has highlighted the importance of a trommel to wash the ore to remove the fine material and hence the volume of ore to be sorted which, in turn, will maximise the utilisation and efficiency of an optical sorter. The Phase 2 trial mining plant will be designed to recover and re-use all water used in the trommel washing operation.

Hand washing and sorting at Gravelotte (photo: Magnum).

July 2018  MODERN MINING  7

MINING News

Sanbrado to be a plus 200 000 oz/a gold producer

West African Resources (WAF), dual listed on the ASX and TSX-V, has announced the results of its updated Feasibility Study, pre- pared in accordance with the requirements of the 2012 JORC Code and NI 43-101, for the Sanbrado gold project in Burkina Faso. The company is hoping to have Sanbrado in production in 2020. The study envisages an initial 11-year mine life including 4,5 years of under- ground mining, with strong early cashflow and a rapid payback of capital. The average annual production over the first five years of operation would be 211 000 ounces. Sanbrado’s ore reserves have been updated in the study to a probable ore reserve of 20,4 Mt at 2,4 g/t Au for 1,57 Moz of gold. The project comprises several open pits, all within 1-2 km of the plant site, and an underground mine accessed through a portal at the south-eastern end of the M1 South open pit. The plant com- prises a conventional SABC milling circuit, gravity and CIL processing with a nominal throughput capacity of 2 Mt/a. The project will be a conventional, low cost and high margin operation with LOM All in Sustaining Costs (AISC) of US$640/oz. This is a result of the significant proportion of oxide and transition material in the mine schedule and the free-milling nature of all ore types (average LOM recovery of 92,9%), low reagent consumption and a high com- ponent of gravity recoverable gold. The estimated project capital cost is US$185 million, inclusive of all open-pit and underground pre-production mining and development costs, contingencies, duties and taxes. At the base case gold price of US$1 300/oz and using a 5 % discount rate, the project generates a post-tax NPV of US$405 million and an IRR of 49 % with a post-tax payback period of 16 months following commissioning. The majority of the defined mineral resources suitable for open-pit mining are within 200 m depth from the surface and of a lode-style mineralisation. The material to be excavated will be predominantly free dig from surface with blasting required deeper in the oxidation profile. Given these conditions, conventional open-pit mining techniques using drill and blast with mate- rial movement by hydraulic excavators and trucks will be employed. The project scale

Sanbrado is located 90 km south-east of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital.

suits 120 to 200 tonne class excavators in a backhoe configuration matched to 95 tonne class mine haul trucks. In addition to the open-pit resources, the M1 South deposit has a steeply dip- ping, high grade zone that extends to depth and is suitable for exploitation by underground mining methods using conventional jumbo development. The planned mining method is uphole retreat bench stoping with loose rock fill and cemented fill where necessary. Mining activities will be undertaken by experienced open-pit and underground mining contractors, with West African Resources retaining responsibility for tech- nical services comprising mine planning, production scheduling, grade control, sur- veying, supervision and management of contract mining operations. The main M5 pit is 2 km long and aver- ages 430 m wide and 205 m deep at the southern end. The pit has been designed so the southern higher grade portion can be mined independently of the northern portion of the pit. Both the northern and southern pits will be mined in two stages, an initial starter pit and then a cutback to final limits, in order to target higher grade earlier in the schedule and defer waste. The M1 deposit will be mined in two

pits, a north and a south pit. The M1 South pit has been limited to a depth of 120 m from surface, as optimisation of the mine schedule and project cash flow indicated that this provided the best interface with the underground mine. The M1 South pit design incorporates an underground portal in the south-east wall. To enable the earliest possible development of the underground workings, the southern sec- tion of the pit will be mined to a depth of 30 m to enable the portal to be devel- oped in fresh rock. The final M1 South pit is 570 m long by 290 m wide and 120 m deep. The M1 North pit is 350 m long by 240 m wide and 90 m deep. The M3 deposit also has two small, pre- dominantly oxide, pits less than 40 mdeep. The Sanbrado process plant will have a nameplate throughput of 2 Mt/a, with an availability of 8 000 hours per annum and a nominal capacity of 250 tonnes per hour (tph). It will be located south-east of the M5 pit. The plant is to be fed predomi- nantly from the M1 and M5 deposits, with only small volumes of material supplied by the M3 pit. A heavy fuel oil (HFO) power station will be constructed at the process plant by an independent power provider (IPP) under a build-own-operate (BOO) agreement. 

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MINING News

Exxaro breaks ground on Belfast coal project

South Africa’s largest coal producer and black empowered mining group, Exxaro, has broken ground on a R3,3-billion, first- of-its-kind digital mine. The Belfast Implementation Project (BIP) – the last good-quality A-grade, high-yield coal deposit in Mpumalanga – will start producing thermal coal in 2020. Belfast is Exxaro’s first greenfields mine since 2007 when Inyanda mine, near Witbank, was developed. It will create close on 6 000 direct and indirect jobs during construction and the life of the mine, with almost 20 000 people benefitting. It is expected to contribute R39 billion to local GDP over the life of the mine, with Nkangala District Municipality’s GDP estimated to gain as much as R2,1 bil- lion per annum, including R966 million – a full 1 % increase – of direct impact on the district municipality. The new mine – which is located about 10 km south-west of Belfast, on the south- ern side of the N4 highway – is also the first of its kind in South Africa to have a ‘digital twin’. The ‘digital twin’ is a complete digital replica of the mine which will allow man- agement and the contracted company to connect to and manage it from anywhere. The maintenance teams will be connected to certain machinery to analyse and pick up problems early – resulting in increased safety and reduced downtime. The sod-turning was attended by

Pictured at the ground-breaking ceremony are (from left): Mxolisi Mgojo: CEO, Exxaro Resources; Ger- aldine Fraser-Moleketi: board member; Refilwe Mtshweni: Premier, Mpumalanga Province; and Cllr TD Ngwenya: Executive Mayor: Emakhazeni Local Municipality (photo: Exxaro).

acknowledges that it is our responsibility to create a future that our children and grand- children can be proud of. Exxaro takes that responsibility very seriously. We are very excited at this opportunity. But we must acknowledge that we operate in an envi- ronment of vast inequality, poverty and unemployment. Therefore, we are mindful of possibility that comes with the Belfast Implementation Forum. This is not just about creating a newmine. As we create, we need to consider how we start leveraging opportunities to create new economies.” 

Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo; Exxaro board members Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Likhapha Mbatha, Petrus Snyders and Mark Moffet; Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni; and the Mpumalanga MEC for Human Settlements, Norah Mahlangu. Construction, which began seven months ago, is expected to last 24 months in total. Belfasti will produce 2,7 Mt/a of A-grade thermal coal for export over a current life of mine of 17 years. In his address, Mgojo said, “Exxaro

July 2018  MODERN MINING  9

MINING News

Syama Underground to be an ‘autonomous’mine

Underground), following the 39 % increase inmineral resources previously announced in October 2017. The adoption of autonomous mining will result in substantially lower average mining costs, while improvements to site power generation facilities will deliver sig- nificant reductions in processing costs. “Our ambition at Syama is to transform this world gold class deposit into a world class gold mine,” comments John Welborn, MD and CEO of Resolute. “The updated DFS numbers capture the progress we have made in exploration, automation andpower, and confirmResolute is transforming Syama into a robust, long life, low cost mine.We are developing a new underground mine at Syama and are on track to commence sub- level caving in December 2018. “The sub-level cave mine plan at Syama lends itself to automation. Our partner- ship with Sandvik to deliver autonomous haulage and trucking enables major productivity and cost improvements over the Original DFS. An upgrade of the Syama power station supports a further cost reduction in sulphide processing. Collectively, these improvements sup- port life of mine production at an All-In Sustaining Cost of US$746/oz, a material improvement on the original mine design. significantly contributing to SRK becom- ing a premium brand in the industry. His consulting activities included: open pit planning and design; rock and soil slope stability analysis and design for road and rail cuttings and open pit and strip mines; and general surface mining geotechnics, includ- ing tailings dam investigation and design. His innovation and discovery activities included developing frameworks for pit optimisation, strategic mine planning, and the application of probability techniques in geotechnical engineering, particularly regarding risk analysis of slope failure in open pit stability investigations. He served as President of the South African Institution of Mining andMetallurgy from 1989 to 1990. He was awarded the Brigadier Stokes Memorial Award in 1995 and the SAICE Geotechnical Gold Medal in 2001. He was also awarded Mining Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 in rec- ognition of his technical contribution to the international mining industry. 

The Syama Underground mine. Resolute is on track to commence sub-level caving in December this year (photo: Resolute).

underground ore reserves to 3,0 million ounces (Moz) of gold. The DFS Update presents the results of an ongoing effort by Resolute to critically examine and pursue improvements in all aspects of Syama, its flagship operation, which is located in southern Mali. A key focus has been the redesign and resched- uling of the underground mine (Syama

ASX-listed Resolute Mining has announced an update (DFS Update) to the June 2016 Syama Underground Definitive Feasibility Study (Original DFS) which delivers a significant reduction in the Life of Mine (LOM) All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) to US$746 per ounce (oz), from US$881/oz. This material cost reduction is accompa- nied and assisted by a 38 % increase in

Obituary: Dr Oskar Steffen (1940-2018) SRK Consulting has announced the passing of Dr Oskar Steffen – one of the three found- ers of the global firmof consulting engineers and scientists – on Wednesday 27 June in Johannesburg; he was 77 years old.

at Wits, where he worked with his mentor, Professor Jere Jennings. He remained at the university until late 1973; his research focused on rock slope stability, which later led to a PhD thesis dealing with methods of stability analysis for rock slopes. During 1973, Andy Robertson per- suaded Steffen and Hendrik Kirsten to join him in a consulting partnership and the firm Steffen, Robertson and Kirsten (SRK) was formed in 1974. The new partners set out to build a firm where staff could reach their full potential within the business, rather than having to leave in search of new challenges; the concept was a series of practices under a unifying and supportive umbrella. They recognised that work must be interesting, preferably fun, and would need to be profitable to be sustainable. Over the following decades, Steffen’s recognition and profile as a top-drawer consultant went from strength to strength,

Steffen was born in Swaziland, where he spent his youth and completed his school- ing. He left for Johannesburg in 1956 to study civil engineering at Wits University, graduating with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1961 and 1963 respectively. He spent the next seven years working for Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines in Zambia, initially in a geotechnical role focused mainly on pit slope stability and later transferring to production, where he moved successively through a series of roles culminating in his appointment as Open Pit Manager. He left Nchanga in 1969 to take up an appointment as Senior Lecturer in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering

10  MODERN MINING  July 2018

MINING News

To fully automate the Syama Under­ ground mine, Sandvik is delivering the AutoMine® and OptiMine® systems for planning, analysis, process optimisa- tion and automation, and a full fleet of Sandvik TH663 trucks and LH621, LH517 and LH514E loaders. TheTH663 truck in autonomous mode will be used for ore and waste haulage. To facilitate the Sandvik agreement and assist with the implementation of associ- ated automation at Syama, Resolute has engaged Dr Joe Cronin, a globally rec- ognised robotics expert in the mining industry. With over 25 years of experience, Dr Cronin has demonstrated specialist expertise in complex technical project management and robotics in unmanned vehicles. As Automation Project Manager at CMOC Northparkes in New SouthWales, Dr Cronin completed the full automation of the world’s most automated under- ground mine where fully autonomous 50-tonne vehicles roam the production level 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no operators in the cabins. 

The DFS Update is based on maintain- ing the planned mining rate of 2,4 Mt/a. This mining rate was originally pro- grammed in the Original DFS on the basis of the 2015 assessment of the available sul- phide processing capacity at Syama. “Our study focus at Syama will now turn to identifying the optimal future mining rate based on the improved automated infrastructure we have developed and the significant progress being made on our processing capabilities,” says Welborn. “There is obvious scope to increase the current planned mining rate of 2,4 million tonnes per annum to as much as 4,0 mil- lion tonnes per annum.” Resolute has entered into a frame- work agreement which sets out the key parameters of the commercial relationship between Resolute and Sandvik for the full automation of the Syama Underground including the delivery of mobile and fixed equipment, operating software, mainte- nance of mobile equipment and delivery of training to maintenance and opera- tional personnel.

“Reducing operating costs and increas- ing production at Syama is consistent with our journey to build an operation that utilises best-in-class technology while maintaining flexibility to incorporate further advances in mining and process- ing,”Welborn continues. “We aim to make Syama the best mine of its type in the world and to ensure we unlock the full potential of this outstanding orebody. “The pursuit of world class mining and processing has been accompanied by a renewed commitment to, and investment in, exploration. The exceptional drill results achieved over the past two years have been followed by a sophisticated and rigorous mine design and evaluation process. This has resulted in an increase of nearly onemil- lion ounces in contained gold in the Syama Underground probable reserve. In addi- tion, we have discovered and commenced the delineation of a new ore zone at Nafolo. This is a breakthrough in our understanding of the size and potential of the Syama min- eralised system, and we are very confident of further growth in the resource base.”

July 2018  MODERN MINING  11

MINING News

Boungou produces its first gold

ing of a 4 000 tonnes per day CIP plant. SEMAFO says it is targeting an average annual production of 204 000 ounces over the five-year period from 2019 to 2023 at an average all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$514/oz. Total mine life on current reserves is eight years. The plant has been built by EPCM contractor Lycopodium while the min- ing contractor is African Mining Services (AMC), a subsidiary of Ausdrill Limited. The Boungou permit lies within the Diapaga greenstone belt, a northeast- southwest orientated belt that extends over 250 km in length and over 50 km in width. The mineralisation of the deposit is predominantly hosted in a silicified shear zone and a significant quantity of the gold occurs as visible gold. Sulphide miner- als comprise pyrrhotite, pyrite, and minor arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite. According to the Feasibility Study (FS), approximately 139 Mt of material will be mined from the open pit over the projected mine life. This will deliver 9,6 Mt of ore to the milling facility with an average head-grade of 4,15 g/t Au and generate 130 Mt of waste material (13,6:1 stripping ratio). Boungou will be SEMAFO’s secondmine in Burkina Faso. Its first, Mana, is located 260 km south-west of Ougadougou and produced 206 400 ounces in 2017. The gold plant has been expanded four times since commissioning in 2008 to a current capac- ity of over 7 200 tonnes per day. SEMAFO is currently developing – at a cost of just over US$50 million – an underground operation at its Siou deposit, located some 20 km from Mana, where open-pit production commenced in early 2014. Production from the underground mine is expected in early 2020. 

Pictured with the first gold bar are (from left) Mahamadou Traoré, Chief Metallurgist; Gilles Ferlatt, General Manager; Abramane Compaoré, Refiner; and Herman Tapsoba, Metallurgist (photo: SEMAFO).

TSX-listed SEMAFO Inc completed the first gold pour at its new Boungou mine in Burkina Faso in late June, slightly ahead of the original schedule. The pour yielded approximately 325 ounces of gold. Dry and wet commissioning of the Boungou processing plant is now com- plete, as is its construction. The vertimill and SAG mill are working according to design and have achieved the designed hourly throughput and grind size. Commercial production is expected in August. “The first gold pour at Boungou marks an important milestone in SEMAFO’s growth trajectory as it signals the begin- ning of a significant increase in production and cash flow,” said Benoit Desormeaux, President and CEO of SEMAFO. “This

achievement reflects a true team effort that involved the hard work and commit- ment of our in-house construction team and external contractors, combined with the strong support of our local commu- nities. This major milestone was achieved while maintaining an exceptional safety record of 5,5 million hours without lost- time injury.” At the end of May 2018, 17,2 million of the projected 18 million tonnes of pre- strip had been completed at Boungou and approximately 172 000 tonnes of ore had been stockpiled for future processing, in line with expectations. Located 320 km from the capital, Ouagadougou, in the south-east of the country, Boungou is a high-grade open-pit mine with the processing facility consist-

12  MODERN MINING  July 2018

MINING News

Katoro Gold to acquire Kibo Nickel

New Akyanga resource a ‘game-changer’ for ARC ARC Minerals has updated mineral resource estimate for the Akyanga deposit, part of its Casa project, located in the eastern part of the DRC. The update was prepared by Denny Jones, an Australian-based resource consul- tancy, and is reported in accordance with the requirements of the 2012 JORC Code. The deposit is nowestimated to host 3mil- lion ounces of gold averaging 2,16 grams per tonne with a near-term exploration target of a further 200 000 to 600 000 ounces of gold in the Akyanga East Area. Nick von Schirnding, ARC’s Executive Chairman, commented: “The increase in Akyanga’s JORC mineral resource from 1,6 Moz to 3 Moz is a game-changer for us and has exceeded our most optimistic expec- tations. The increased ounces and grade have the potential to significantly enhance the economics of developing the mine. We shall now commence with a scoping study, target- ing a 150 – 200 koz per annum low cost gold operation, to be completed by year end. 

AIM-listed Katoro Gold has announced that it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Kibo Nickel Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary, Eagle Exploration Limited (the ‘Kibo Nickel Group’), from the company’s majority shareholder, Kibo Mining, which is the 100 % owner of the polymetallic Haneti nickel project in Tanzania. Additionally, the company reports that it has raised £325 000 via a placing of 25 million new ordinary shares. The Kibo Nickel Group controls 100 % of Haneti, which covers an area of approximately 5 000 km 2 and forms a near contiguous project block, with approxi- mately US$1,5million spent on exploration to date by the seller. The project is located in the Dodoma region in central Tanzania. “Haneti is a highly prospective high- grade nickel sulphide asset and is a great addition to Katoro’s portfolio,” comments Louis Coetzee, Katoro’s Executive Chairman. “Historic work has already yielded excep-

tional high grades of up to 13,9 % nickel, as well as discoveries of gold, cobalt and platinum and some significant lithium anomalies. With independent work already outlining the potential for a significant nickel deposit, we are excited about initiat- ing an exploration and development plan. Katoro will prioritise developing an exploration programme for Haneti, utilis- ing the decades of experience that it has in developing projects inTanzania in the same way as has been used to develop Katoro’s two gold projects in development – Imweru and Lubando – located in the Lake Victoria goldfield of northern Tanzania. As announced on 24 May 2018, Katoro recently completed its assessment of the economic feasibility of Imweru and, based on the preliminary pre-feasibility results and the new mining legislation and regulations in Tanzania, believes there is good upside exploration and development potential for the further advancement of Imweru. 

July 2018  MODERN MINING  13

MINING News

B2Gold increases its exploration budget for Fekola

open-pit reserve. The Fekola North Extension remains open to the north. Due to the increasing size of the miner- alised area, B2Gold now intends to release a new mineral resource for the Fekola deposit, including a portion of the Fekola North Extension, early in the fourth quarter of 2018. In addition, based on the positive explo- ration results to date, B2Gold’s in-house technical team is conducting engineering and other technical studies to ascertain the potential to expand the current Fekola mine and mill facilities, and increase ton- nage throughput (thereby increasing annual gold production) if, as expected, a larger open-pit resource is confirmed by the current exploration and in-fill drilling. Results of these studies are projected to be available by year-end 2018. Fekola is B2Gold’s newest mine. On September 25, 2017, the company announced that its in-house construction team had completed construction of the Fekola mill on budget and commenced ore processing, more than threemonths ahead of the original schedule. The first gold pour was achieved on October 7, 2017 and on November 30, 2017, the mine achieved commercial production, one month ahead of the revised schedule and four months ahead of the original schedule. Fekola is projected to produce between 400 000 and 410 000 ounces of gold in 2018 at cash operating costs of between US$345 and US$390 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of between US$575 and US$625 per ounce.  recommendation, based on improved proj- ect economics. Specific objectives were to increase the overall mineral resources to ensure aminimumLOMof 20 years at a 2Mt/a treatment rate; and a reduction in operating costs to less than US$300/t of concentrate. The mining method will consist of con- ventional open-pit mining. The flowchart proposed for Goulamina is a conventional process for the beneficiation of spodumene- containing ores to saleable spodumene concentrates. The process is well tested and involves crushing, reflux classification, DMS, grinding, flotation, magnetic separation, flotation concentrate filtration and bulk transport to the consumer of a combined DMS/flotation concentrate. 

The processing plant at Fekola. B2Gold is conducting engineering and other technical studies to ascer- tain the potential to expand the current Fekola mine and mill facilities (photo: B2Gold).

Canada’s B2Gold Corp has announced that it has increased the Fekola North Extension zone exploration budget at its Fekola mine in Mali based on very positive exploration drill results to date. The 2018 Mali exploration budget will increase by US$3,9 million (from US$15,1 million to US$19 million) to accelerate the current Fekola North Extension zone drill programme, which is extending and infilling mineral resources to the north of the main Fekola deposit. The company is increasing the number of diamond drills from the current five rigs to eight rigs, as well as one reverse circulation (RC) rig and one aircore rig. A total of 39 000 metres has been drilled this year on the Fekola North Extension, and an additional

16 000 metres are now planned for the remainder of 2018. Exploration drilling of the Fekola North Extension has now extended mineralisa- tion over one kilometre north of the Fekola reserve pit boundary. The drilling to date has indicated that the high-grade mineralised shoot in the Fekola reserve deposit not only continues to be well mineralised over one kilometre to the north, but the shoot has now been intersected higher up, closer to surface than originally projected in the Fekola North Extension zone. These results and previous drill results indicate that the potential exists, subject to further drilling, to significantly increase open-pit resources and reserves, north of the current Fekola profitably developed as a large scale, low cost, hard rock lithium mine. The recom- mended development scenario comprises an open-cut mining operation and a 2 Mt/a mineral concentrating plant. Under this scenario, Goulamina would produce an average of 362 000 t of 6 % Li 2 O spodumene concentrate (or 53 704 t of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE)) annu- ally for the initial mine life of 16 years. This PFS follows an earlier Goulamina pre-feasibility study released in October 2017. Subsequently, Birimian advised that it would undertake further work to produce an updated PFS with a firm development

Birimian produces positive PFS on lithium project ASX-listed Birimian has announced the completion of an updated Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for its wholly- owned Goulamina lithium project located in Mali, the results of which demonstrate excellent project economics and significant potential for further upside.

Goulamina is located on the Torakoro permit, which covers an area of 100 km 2 and is located in southern Mali, approximately 150 km south of the country’s capital city of Bamako and 50 km west of the town of Bougouni. The PFS update, prepared by Ausenco Services, confirms that Goulamina can be

14  MODERN MINING  July 2018

MINING News

Bagassi South mining project decree approved

Roxgold Inc, listed on the TSX, reports that the Bagassi South mining decree has been approved by the Burkina Faso Council of Ministers. Bagassi South is located on Roxgold’s Yaramoko property, which already hosts the 55 Zone underground mine. The Bagassi South min- ing decree is an extension of the existing 2013 mining convention currently in place for the 55 Zone mime and carries the same terms. “Construction at Bagassi South has been progressing extremely well and we continue to be on track for delivery of first ore from our sec- ond mine, expected in the fourth quarter,” commented John Dorward, President and CEO of Roxgold. “The process plant expansion is also tracking on schedule where we look forward to increasing Yaramoko’s gold production by approximately 40 % to 160 000 ounces in 2019.” Development and construction at the Bagassi South project, located 1,8 km south of the Yaramoko processing plant, has been advancing well with overall project completion now at approximately 55 %. The process plant expansion project, which allows for an increase in throughput from 750 tonnes per day (tpd) to 1 100 tpd, is also con- tinuing on schedule. The engineering design and procurement is now complete and fabrication is well advanced. Civils at the plant are com- pleted with Group South construction personnel ramping up numbers at site. The overhead power line to Bagassi South is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in early August. The sec- ondary crusher is being manufactured and it is anticipated that it will be delivered to site in October as planned.  Zinc recovery circuit under construction at Kabwe In an update on its Kabwe project in Zambia, AIM-listed Jubilee Metals Group says that the construction of the zinc recovery circuit is pro- gressing while its research and development teams conclude the testing of the lead and vanadium circuit design parameters. “Our process development teams have been able to determine a more suitable process solution than the originally contemplated acid and brine solution for the extraction of the various metals at Kabwe,” says Jubilee’s CEO, Leon Coetzer. “The updated process flowsheet offers the potential to both improve capital efficiency as well as reduce circuit complexity. “This process circuit development lies at the heart of Jubilee’s expertise to develop suitable metal recovery processes for historical mine wastes. I expect the team to conclude the full circuit design and project financial parameters targeting the three metals, zinc, lead and vanadium, by the end of August 2018.” He adds that Jubilee and BMR Group have agreed to extend the contractual period to conclude the circuit design and project budget to alignwith this target date.“Jubileewill continue to fund the construction of the zinc circuit during this period and we continue to have positive discussions with the Department of Mines and Minerals in Zambia.” Jubilee announced in October last year that it was partnering with BMR Group to target the recovery of lead, zinc and vanadium from an estimated 6,4 Mt (3,2 Mt of which is JORC-compliant) of surface assets at Kabwe. Jubilee is the operator of the project. 

July 2018  MODERN MINING  15

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