Modern Mining June 2017

MINING News

ASX-listed Avenira, owner of the Baobab phosphate project in Senegal, has sub- mitted an application to convert its Small Mine Permit (SMP) into a full Exploitation Permit (previously referred to as a ‘Large Mine Permit’ or ‘LMP’). The LMP, if granted, will provide the right foundation for a production capacity expansion, and will ensure an extended project tenure (up to 20 years, with further renewals allowed). This follows Avenira’s announcement in March this year of an inferred mineral resource estimate of 114 Mt at 19 % P 2 O 5 at a 15 % cut-off and an indicated mineral resource estimate of 31,7 Mt at 20,6 % P 2 O 5 at that same 15 % cut-off at Baobab. In the light of the resource estimates and the company’s experience with its existing facility at Baobab, Avenira’s board has approved a new Strategic Plan devel- oped by Managing Director Louis Calvarin New strategic plan for phosphate mine and his team. The Strategic Plan includes two stages: firstly, the optimisation of the existing ore beneficiation unit to bring it to a fully sustainable operational level; and, secondly, the implementation of next step investments towards the long-term objective of Avenira becoming a leading supplier to the fertiliser industry and a leading fertiliser producer for West African and international markets. Stage 1 will deliver a capacity and performance expansion of the existing Baobab processing facility. A flotation line will be added to improve P 2 O 5 recov- ery from around 50 % currently to around 70 %, and to reduce the silica assay of the Gadde Bissik phosphate rock concentrate product. A drying process unit will also be added to control product moisture at the commercially required level, including dur- ing the annual wet season.

“Stage 1 is intended to increase current production to the 0,5 Mt per annum level and to improve product quality, opening a wider segment of the market to our prod- uct,” explains Calvarin. Stage 2 will be the construction of a second production line delivering around 1 Mt/a of additional capacity. The resulting combined capacity of 1,5 Mt/a will provide sufficient product for Avenira to supply a dedicated phosphoric acid facility – this being the company’s long term strategic objective – while con- tinuing to grow its relationships with its phosphate rock customers. Engineering studies are under way to provide a detailed design as well as capital and operating cost estimates for Stage 1. The expanded plant is expected to be fully commissioned in stages within 12 to 18 months of funding. Pre-feasibility work for Stage 2 is projected to start before the end of 2017. 

Avenira has approved a Strategic Plan which will see production capacity at its Baobab project being expanded to 1,5 Mt/a (photo: Avenira).

Senior appointment byWits School of Mining As a leading school in the field of rock engineering, the Wits School of Mining Engineering has recently appointed Professor Rudrajit Mitra as Centennial Chair of Rock Engineering.

his Doctorate at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, also in the US. He has published widely in the field of rock mechanics and rock engineering, particularly focusing on underground coal mining. With a particular interest in visu- alisation technology and simulation, he was the co-founder of the ‘Future Mining’ conference that promotes innovation in mining and considers lessons and oppor- tunities from other industries. The initiative is a forum for scientists, mine management, engineers, government, academics and other stakeholders to visualise and work towards positive future scenarios for mining. He also co-developed ViMINE, a sce- nario-based mine planning tool that helps mining engineering students to experience various aspects of a mining operation work- ing together, integrating several types of simulation into one environment. 

well-known local experts in the field such as Professor Dick Stacey and Professor Nielen van der Merwe. “The Chair had been vacant for two years before the appointment of Professor Mitra, because we needed tomake the right appointment,” says the Head of the Wits School of Mining Engineering, Professor Cuthbert Musingwini. The Chair is supported by the Centennial Trust, established by the school in its cente- nary year of 1996. The research activities of the Chair are supported by a 2014 donation of R1,9 million by global miner Gold Fields. Professor Mitra earned his first degree in mining engineering from BE College in Shibpur, India, and went on to do his Master of Science in Mining Engineering at Pennsylvania State University in the US, and

Professor Mitra joins Wits from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, where his positions included Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Mining Engineering since 2012. “Building on the progress made by previous incumbents in this Chair, there is great scope to use the experience of other countries and various disciplines – such as computer science, geophysics, metallurgy, chemistry and finance – to collaboratively develop solutions,” said Professor Mitra. Previous holders of the Chair include

12  MODERN MINING  June 2017