Modern Mining June 2017

MINING News

DRA appointed as lead contractor for Elikhulu tage over other bidders for the project lay in the fact that the engineering firm was involved with Pan African Resources from a Definitive Feasibility Study phase and was able to ensure a cost effective, fit-for-pur- pose, technically appropriate solution.

overcome to implement the project plans successfully,” says Howard. He adds that DRA has developed a good working relationship with all team members, both on an executive and opera- tional level, and will leverage this alliance to further establish a long-term partner- ship with Pan African Resources. The new CIL process plant will be com- missioned in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the final phase of the TSF will be com- plete in the first quarter of 2019. 

Multi-disciplinary international engi- neering group DRA has been appointed by JSE-listed Pan African Resources to deliver a detailed design and construction supervision service for the Elikhulu gold tailings retreatment plant facility planned for Pan African’s Evander operation in Mpumalanga. This is a substantial project rela- tive to the size of Pan African Resources’ operations in the Evander area and will reportedly be a game-changer for Evander. The project is equally important to DRA as the lead contractor. “This is DRA’s first gold tailings retreat- ment plant development and it includes all aspects of the construction, including hydraulic mining, processing and tailings deposition,” says Paul Howard at DRA. “The Elikhulu project is valued at circa R1,6 billion and entails the construction of facilities and infrastructure at Evander to retreat gold plant tailings at the rate of 1 million tonnes per month.” DRA’s scope of services through all stages of the project encompasses the reclamation of the three existing stor- age facilities, namely Kinross, Leslie and Winkelhaak. Furthermore, the project scope includes the water supply to the project as a whole and the water supply to each of the reclamation sites; the hydraulic mining infrastructure; and a new carbon in leach (CIL) gold recovery process plant. DRA will also be responsible for the pump and piping systems to transfer the hydraulically mined tailings slurry to the new CIL process plant; the residue disposal pumps and piping systems to deposit the tailings on a new Tailing Storage Facility (TSF); and the construction of the new TSF. According toDRA, its competitive advan-

“The team involved in the study phase (and who will also be executing the proj- ect) have managed many projects with an array of challenges including schedule and capital expenditure constraints as well as limited water availability, all of which were

Preferred power provider selected for Colluli Danakali, listed on the ASX, and its joint venture partner, the Eritrean National Mining Corporation (ENAMCO), have announced that Inglett and Stubbs International (ISI) has been appointed as the preferred power provider for the Colluli Sulphate of Potash (SOP) project. The appointment follows a competitive tendering process utilising a build-own- operate-transfer (BOOT) model.

tions and maintenance services, and full service electrical and communications services. The Colluli deposit is located in the Danakil region of Eritrea and is approxi- mately 177 km (350 km by road) south-east of the capital, Asmara, and 180 km from the port of Massawa (230 km by road), which is Eritrea’s key import/export facility. The Colluli mineralisation commences at just 16 m below surface, reportedly mak- ing it one of the most accessible potash deposits globally and highly amenable to open-cut mining. This provides higher resource recoveries relative to underground and solution mining methods, is generally safer, and can be more easily expanded. A definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the production of potassium sulphate was com- pleted in November 2015. The DFS utilises a modular development approach which mit- igates risk while enhancing fundability and economic return. Phase I is expected to pro- duce approximately 425 kt/a of premium SOP product with commissioning currently targeted for Q4 2018. Phase II, commencing production in year 6, will increase total SOP production to 850 kt/a. 

In January 2017, expressions of interest were received from power providers based in the Middle East, Australia, Africa, the US and the UK. The shortlisted parties submit- ted bids in a competitive tendering process based on the technical specifications deter- mined in the definitive feasibility study. The bids were received in April and subsequent evaluation of the proposals received dem- onstrated very close alignment with the power generation costs determined in the definitive feasibility study. ISI, based in Atlanta in the US, is a highly experienced, global provider of power generation, distribution and communica- tions facilities. With a long-term partnering approach, ISI provides turnkey solutions, facilities and critical infrastructure, opera-

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