Modern Mining March 2018

March 2018 Vol 14 No 3 www.crown.co.za M ODERN MINING

IN THIS ISSUE…  Trial mining starts at Gravelotte  New Luika goes underground  AfriTin works to revive Uis  First diamonds from Bellsbank  Tsodilo progresses BK16 project

MODERN M I N I N G

CONTENTS

MARCH 2018

ARTICLES

COVER 20 Cat 789D trucks under the spotlight at Foskor GOLD 24 New Luika underground operation hits its stride

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

Darryl James Circulation Karen Smith Publisher Karen Grant

TIN 28 AfriTin works to revive historic Uis tin mine

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Deputy Publisher Wilhelm du Plessis Printed by: Shumani Mills Communications

FEATURE – DIAMOND MINING 32 Efficiencies up as Venetia’s open pit winds down 36 Bellsbank produces its first diamonds

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

39 Tsodilo progresses BK16 project 43 Milestone for Tongo-Tonguma

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

Sharp increase in head grade at Barberton Mines 6 Agreements pave the way for Obuasi redevelopment 7 Yaramoko operating above nameplate capacity 8 Kakula copper resource keeps on growing 9 Prospect establishes lithium carbonate pilot plant 10 SEMAFO plan underground operation at Mana 11 Algold adds high-grade gold ounces at Tijirit 12 Production ramp-up continues at graphite mine 13 SENET appoints Managing Director 14 Positive Scoping Study on Balama Central 15 DFS work starts on Segilola project 16 Namdini indicated resource upgraded to 6,5 Moz 18 Magnum launches trial mining programme at Gravelotte PRODUCT NEWS 44 Optimised metallurgical gold leach technology from Afrox

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Cover One of four Cat 789D off-high- way trucks delivered to Foskor in Phalaborwa by Barloworld Equipment in 2017, the first Cat trucks to haul ore on the site in 30 years. See page 20 for further details.

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45 Dry-type mini substation fromTrafo 46 Discount offered on abnormal loads 47 Trio crushers and screens on a roll 48 Landmark PDS installation by Booyco 49 Control system optimises SAG milling 50 Jaw crusher breathes new energy into quarry 51 CMTI develops brake-testing technologies 52 Cables feature safe and rugged design

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Average circulation (October–December 2017) 4509

March 2018  MODERN MINING  1

COMMENT

Exploration turns a corner

T he good news from a special report entitled ‘World Exploration Trends’ prepared by S&P Global Market Intelligence for the PDAC Interna- tional Convention – held earlier this month (March) in Toronto, Canada – is that global exploration spending (for non-ferrous metals) is on the rise after falling for four con- secutive years. The bad news is that Africa is not getting its fair share of the exploration dollars on offer, attracting only a miserly 14 % of the global budget. This is very low given the continent’s rich minerals endowment and the fact that it is – by common consent – one of the most under- explored parts of the world. According to the S&P report (which is based on an underlying survey of more than 3 000 companies), spending on the search for non- ferrous metals rose to an estimated US$8,4 billion in 2017, compared with US$7,3 billion in 2016, although it points out that the 2017 figure is less than half the record US$21,5 bil- lion recorded in 2012. The report notes that the overall health of the junior exploration sector in particular is on the mend. “Improved equity market support for explorers – including many that were dormant during the downturn – allowed companies to launch or resume drill programmes on their most promising projects,” it says. An interesting trend identified by S&P is that riskier generative-type exploration is being increasingly avoided by the mining indus- try. “Over the past few years, our research has shown industry exploration efforts to be increasingly focused at or near operating mines,” the report states. “A long-term swing away from grassroots exploration has been exacerbated since 2013 by a combination of scarce funding for junior explorers and spend- ing cuts by the majors.” S&P also points out that the majors are con- tinuing to allocate only a small proportion of their revenues to exploration. Ratios of explo- ration spend to revenue for these producers fell from 3,2 % in 2012 to a 12-year low of 1,8 % in 2016. Canada was once again – for the sixteenth consecutive year – the biggest country destina- tion for exploration dollars, attracting 13,8 % of the global budget, with Australia following close behind with 13,6 %. The US maintained its third-place ranking with a 7,7 % share, with a single state, Nevada, accounting for almost half this. By region, Latin America remained the most popular, with over 90 % of spend going to just six countries – Chile, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

In Africa, most exploration was focused on the DRC, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and South Africa. “Continued interest in West Africa, made gold the top target, with the metal’s share of regional spending jumping to 61 % from 51 % in 2016,” says the report. Globally, gold was the major recipient of exploration spending in 2017, accounting for just over half the global budget (and for 73 % of the year-over-year increase) with the base met- als – copper, nickel and zinc-lead – coming in second with 30 %. Interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, platinum group metals attracted less than 1 % of global spending, behind both uranium and diamonds which each accounted for approximately 3 %. Everyone involved in the resources indus- try knows that the so-called battery metals are all the rage at the moment, one of them being cobalt which is now selling for an astonishing and stratospheric US$87 000/tonne. Says the S&P report: “Spurred by the growing demand for rechargeable batteries and a surge in battery metal prices, a number of junior companies shifted their exploration focus in 2017, dramat- ically increasing the spending on the search for cobalt and lithium. Our research identi- fied 136 companies budgeting almost US$157 million for lithium exploration in 2017, more than double the 2016 total. Cobalt-focused exploration also increased strongly, with 52 companies allocating US$36 million in 2017, more than four times the 2016 budget.” The report notes that the DRC received one quarter of the global cobalt exploration budget in 2017. This sounds impressive but the per- centage figure should arguably be much higher. After all, the DRC produces over 60 % of the world’s cobalt. Perhaps explaining the anom- aly is the fact that some explorers are starting to avoid the DRC, deterred by the country’s new mining code which – among other things – raises the royalty on ‘strategic minerals’ to 10 %. As I write this, these strategic minerals have not yet been formally identified but cobalt is almost certain to be one of them. Looking ahead, S&P says that it expects the upward trend in exploration spending to continue and predicts the global exploration budget for 2018 will increase by a further 15 to 20 % year over year. This is very encouraging. Certainly, we’ve a long way to go to reach the heights of 2012 but at least the figures are going in the right direction and – given the high cor- relation between exploration activity and the overall health of the resources sector – sug- gest that better times lie ahead for the mining industry globally. Arthur Tassell

“A long-term swing away

from grassroots exploration has been exacerbated since 2013 by a combination of scarce funding for junior explorers and spending cuts by the majors.”

March 2018  MODERN MINING  3

MINING News

Sharp increase in head grade at Barberton Mines

mining block. It is envisaged that the strike length of the MRC orebody on the 358 platform will be 75 m with a high-grade core of 40 m, extrapolated from the 272 platform above. These platforms underpin Fairview´s high-grade production and mining flexibility, particularly for ore haulage, development waste disposal and improv- ing the mining face availability for the next two years, during which development of the next platform below the 358 will be completed. Production from the MRC ore- body will be further enhanced with the completion of the sub-vertical shaft in two years´ time. Regarding the Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (BTRP), Pan African says the construction of the regrind mill is proceeding according to schedule with commissioning anticipated in the last week of April 2018. On commissioning of the regrind mill, production at the BTRP is expected to increase to approximately 21 000 ounces per annum. At the Evander mines complex, construction of the Elikhulu Tailings Retreatment Plant is progressing ahead of schedule with first gold expected in August 2018. Ramp up to full production of approximately 55 000 ounces per annum is expected to take no longer than two months, after which Elikhulu is estimated to produce gold at an all-in sustaining cost of production of below US$650/oz. In conjunction with the Evander Tailings Retreatment Plant, these two operations In conjunction with this, Orezone visited a number of operating mines in West Africa that currently mine oxide material using contractors employing small 30-t to 50-t haulage trucks in order to determine effi- ciencies, costs and suitability of adopting their practices to mine the Bomboré ‘free digging’ oxides. As previously disclosed, the results of the Soutex review concluded that the Bomboré flowsheet could be simplified through the elimination of the heap leach circuit, which should result in a simpler process opera- tion. Under the simplified process, the focus would be on the ‘free dig’material only. This would exclude the Lower Transition mate- rial which does require some drill and blast and crushing in order to be processed, but

The Barberton Mines complex (photo: Pan African Resources).

In its latest operational update, Pan African Resources reports that the average head grade for the Barberton Mines complex, which includes the Fairview, Sheba and Consort mines, has risen from an average of 8,7 g/t during July to December 2017 to 11,5 g/t which was recorded in the February 2018 production month. This 32 % increase in head grade is predominantly as a result of mining high-grade ore at the 272 platform since January 2018. The latest on-reef develop- ment samples taken in the 272 platform recorded an average grade of 99,2 g/t (ranging from 2,2 g/t to 1 320 g/t) over a

mineralised width of 3,36 m along a strike length of 24 m. This confirms that the high-grade areas of this mining block are now in production. This high-grade core of the 11-block MRC orebody is encapsu- lated within a 75 m mineralised envelope with the remainder of the mineralisation retrieving an average grade of 10,5 g/t. Furthermore, face sampling of the on-reef development, taken of the min- eralised 11-block MRC orebody at the 358 platform, resulted in an average grade of 45,7 g/t over a mineralised width of 2 m, confirming that the on-reef development has reached the high-grade section of this Previous studies for the Bomboré oxide mineral resource were based on combined heap leach and CIL processing and mining of all oxide material, including the harder more competent Lower Transition material at the bottom of the pits. In mid-2017 Orezone commenced a detailed review of all work completed to that date to determine whether the prior 2015 Bomboré FS could be simplified. The company contracted Soutex, a special- ised metallurgical consulting firm based in Quebec, to review all metallurgical test work, supervise the completion of certain additional metallurgical test work and assist in developing a revised flowsheet.

New Feasibility Study underway on Bomboré Orezone Gold Corporation, listed on the TSX-V, says that it expects the new Feasibility Study (FS) on its 90 %-owned Bomboré deposit in Burkina Faso to be completed in late Q2, 2018. Launched in January this year, the FS is being undertaken by a team led by LycopodiumMinerals Canada with the work being based on the January 2017 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE).

The company has also contracted P&E Mining Consultants Inc to complete an updated MRE which will encompass all of the 2017 drill results and will also model the newly identified higher grade zones within the existing oxide pit shells using separate mineralisation domains.

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MINING News

The Elikhulu Tailings Retreatment Plant is on course to produce its first gold in August this year (photo: Pan African Resources). are expected to produce more than 70 000 ounces per annum.

into the 358 platform confirms the geo- logical continuity of Fairview´s 11-block high-grade orebody. “These developments, along with prog- ress at the BTRP and Elikhulu, provide Pan African with far greater certainty of high- quality gold ounce production.” 

hopper and from there direct fed to a single stage ball mill, eliminating the crusher, the scrubber, stockpiles and reclaim systems and all associated equipment and convey- ors. The majority of the plant feed material is already below the grind target of 150 micron, resulting in a low apparent bond work index for the mill feed. This combined with the low abrasion index of the ore results in a low power draw and low grindingmedia consumption. Downstreamwill be a pre-leach tank and 6-stage CIL tanks providing a 24-hour leach residence time. Gold recovery will then be by standard ZADRA elution and electrowin- ning. A tailings thickener will be employed to conserve water and reduce overall cya- nide consumption. Barberton Mines, we have successfully dealt with the key underground chal- lenges at Fairview´s 11-block and we are on track to re-establish BTRP´s production profile at approximately 21 000 ounces per annum. Mining over the past two months at the 272 platform and the development

Commenting on the operational update, Cobus Loots, CEO, stated: “Pan African is focused on sustainable lower cost gold production from our asset portfolio. After a challenging period at this only accounts for approximately 7 % of the total mineral resource tonnes in the 2017 MRE. In preparing for the FS, Lycopodium worked closely with Soutex and reviewed the simplified flowsheet concept and con- cluded that this was the preferred option to examine in the FS from both a capital and operating cost viewpoint. Site visits have also been undertaken by the FS consultants and all existing data reviewed. Based on these visits, the data reviewed, the Soutex review, and the recently completed metal- lurgical test work, several key opportunities will now be examined in the FS. These include simplified front-end pro- cessing through the process plant. Saprolitic plant feed would be direct dumped to a feed

Construction of the Tailing Storage Facility (TSF) in phases over the mine life will be examined. Previous flowsheets and plant design for Bomboré necessitated the full construction of the TSF at the front-end thereby increasing the front-end capital cost. Contract mining using low technology 30-t haulage units, currently used in several free-dig operations in West Africa, will also be considered. “Our FS for the Bomboré project is very much on track,” said Patrick Downey, Orezone’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The reviews and work completed over the past 10 months have led us to a simplified process flowsheet.We expect that this simplification will confirm Bomboré as a compelling project.” 

March 2018  MODERN MINING  5

MINING News

Agreements pave the way for Obuasi redevelopment

Ghana,” says AngloGold Ashanti CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan. “Obuasi now has the mine and labour plan, geological understanding and social model to match its world-class, high-grade orebody. The project metrics show a high-return, long- life project that not only brings ounces to account quickly and profitably, but also offers attractive returns on our investment.” AngloGold Ashanti has conducted a feasibility study into the redevelopment of Obuasi. The study tested the viability of redeveloping the high-grade Obuasi ore- body, which has 5,8 Moz of ore reserves and 34 Moz in mineral resource, to create a safe, long-life mining operation that is productive and profitable. The outcomes of the TCA and DA have been applied to the feasibility study. The redevelopment will establish Obuasi as a mechanised underground mining operation. The approach to redeveloping the Obuasi mine is a funda- mental departure from how the mine was operated in the past. The redevelopment makes use of automation and controls for improved operational efficiencies and con- sistency in performance. The project implementation will be undertaken in two distinct phases, with stage one comprising project establishment, mine rehabilitation and

The town of Obuasi has grown up around the mine. The redevelopment of the mine will provide a major boost to the local economy (photo: AngloGold Ashanti).

AngloGold Ashanti reports it has signed the regulatory and fiscal agreements with the Government of Ghana that will provide the framework for the redevelopment of the Obuasi gold mine. The Government of Ghana and AngloGold Ashanti have put in place sev- eral agreements including a Development Agreement, a Tax Concession Agreement, a Security Agreement and a Reclamation Security Agreement. The Environment Impact Assessment process has been completed and the permits are expected shortly. Two documents – the Tax Con­

cession Agreement ( TCA) and the Development Agreement (DA) – must now both be ratified by Ghana’s Parliament to be made effective. Obuasi has been in limited operating phase since 2014, and the Government’s support, says AngloGold Ashanti, will go a long way to enabling it to restart as a modern, productive, long-life, high-margin operation. “Redevelopment of the Obuasi mine will establish Obuasi as a world-class operation, rejuvenating the proud gold mining history of the Ashanti region in

One of Obuasi’s shafts. Obuasi is primarily an underground mine operating at depths of up to 1 500 mwith a continuous history of mining dating back to the 1890s (photo: AngloGold Ashanti).

6  MODERN MINING  March 2018

MINING News

ate in a mechanised/automated operation with a strong sense of accountability. The operation is expected to create between 2 000 and 2 500 jobs. Additional roles will be required during the construction phase of the project. The footprint of the mine has been significantly simplified. The lease area has been reduced from 475 km 2 to 201 km 2 . The operational footprint has been sim- plified and is concentrated in a fenced location in the south, allowing for tighter security, access control and the demarca- tion of the mine from the neighbouring community. AngloGold Ashanti has a 100 % interest in Obuasi, which is located in the Ashanti region, 200 km north-west of Accra. The Obuasi mine was acquired by AngloGold in the merger with Ashanti Goldfields in 2004. The falling gold price in 2013 over- took restructuring efforts to improve the profitability of the operation.  activities have been completed. Early works at the site including clearing, fencing, building construction as well as the boxcut construction for the underground mine have commenced. The development of the ramp will begin in the third quarter of 2018. “We continue to see consistent oper- ating performance from Yaramoko. 2018 has started off ahead of our expectations and we remain confident that we will have another strong year ahead,” com- mented John Dorward, President and CEO of Roxgold. “Construction activities have started on schedule and are tracking to expectations at Bagassi South, our second high-grade underground mine, and we look forward to delivering first ore from the project in the fourth quarter.” 

Total cash costs are expected to average between US$590/oz and US$680/oz, while All-in Sustaining Costs are expected to be between US$750/oz and US$850/oz. The project delivers internal rates of return of between 16 % and 23 % at real gold prices of between US$1 100/oz and US$1 240/oz and is highly leveraged to the gold price. Initial project capital expenditure antici- pated over the first two-and-a-half years is estimated to be between US$450 million and US$500 million. After the completion of phase two, extended project capital expenditure of US$94million is expected to continue through to year six, covering the development of the Obuasi Deeps Decline to the lower level of the mine, refurbish- ment of the KMS shaft, installation of new underground pump stations and construc- tion of the flotation tailings storage facility. The development plan envisages a smaller but skilled workforce that can oper- mately 40 000 tonnes at 14,9 g/t of gold at the end of January 2018, which significantly de-risks the operation in 2018. Processing throughput rates have increased steadily through the fourth quar- ter to the end of January 2018, averaging above 23 700 tonnes per month for the last four months with January achieving a record of 24 363 tonnes milled at an average rate of 785 tonnes per day. Gold recoveries continue to be maintained at an average of 98,8 % to date since commissioning. Development and construction of the Bagassi South project, located 1,8 km south of the Yaramoko processing plant, is pro- gressing according to plan. Environmental and social permitting and compensation

development, and plant and infrastruc- ture refurbishment to enable production at a rate of 2 000 tonnes per day for the first operating year. This is expected to take roughly 18 months, with the first gold pour expected in the third quarter of 2019. The second phase includes refur- bishment of the underground materials handling system, shafts and ventilation; and construction of the primary crusher, the SAG/ball circuit, carbon regeneration, a new gold room and a tailings storage facility. This is expected to take a further 12 months and enable the operation to climb to 4 000 tonnes per day. The operation is then expected to ramp up to 5 000 tonnes per day, over the following three years. Mine production for the first 10 years will be focused on the upper orebodies and is expected to average 350 000 oz to 450 000 oz at an average head grade of 8,1 g/t. In the second 10 years, produc- tion averages 400 000 oz to 450 000 oz.

Yaramoko operating above nameplate capacity TSX-listed Roxgold Inc has provided an update on its operations and on the prog- ress of the Bagassi South project at its Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso.

Performance at the existing 55 Zone mine has achieved elevated production metrics across several fronts in recent months. Since October 2017, daily mine production has averaged 1 124 tonnes per day or 50 % above nameplate capacity of 750 tonnes per day. This outperformance has been driven by a significant increase in stope production tonnes, as opposed to development tonnes, with tonnes from stoping increasing from 55 % in October 2017 to 80 % in January 2018. As a result, the Run-of-Mine stocks totalled approxi-

March 2018  MODERN MINING  7

MINING News

Kakula copper resource keeps on growing

Kakula’s new indicated mineral resources at a 3 % cut-off grade have increased by 58 Mt and currently total 174 Mt at a grade of 5,62 % copper. This compares to the May 2017 estimate of 116 Mt at 6,09 % copper, at the same cut-off grade. Estimated inferred mineral resources now total an additional 9 Mt at a grade of 3,66 % copper at a 3 % cut-off. At a 1 % copper cut-off, Kakula’s indi- cated mineral resources have increased by 58 % to now total 585 Mt at 2,92 % copper. “Kakula is the most remarkable min- eral discovery we have seen during our 35-plus years in the exploration industry,” comments Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe. “The new, indepen- dently-verified resource estimate now places Kamoa-Kakula ahead of Indonesia’s renowned Grasberg deposit as the fourth- largest copper discovery on the planet in terms of contained copper. And it still is growing. “The exceptionally high copper grades, thicknesses and continuity of the minerali- sation at Kakula distinguish this discovery from anything else in the Central African Copperbelt. Based on the findings of the independent preliminary economic assess- ment completed in November of last year, the resources we’ve discovered should allow us to build a world-scale, highly- mechanised, underground copper mine with an initial capital cost expected to be far lower than other operations of this size. “With this initial Mineral Resource Estimate at Kakula West, we can begin to evaluate technical and infrastructure options to expeditiously develop the zones of thick, high-grade, bottom-loaded chalcocite in this latest discovery area.” Friedland says that a development sce- nario using a mining rate of 6 Mt/a and a copper cut-off grade of 3 % indicates that Kakula already has enough indicated mineral resources to mine at an average grade of between 5,5 % and 6 % copper for approximately 30 years. “If we lower the copper cut-off grade to 1%, which is higher than themining grades at most of the world’s major copper mines, we could be mining almost 3 % copper at Kakula for approximately 100 years.” The Kakula Discovery is approximately 10 km south-west of Kamoa’s initial Kansoko mine development. 

Kakula geologists (from left) Alain Kyatenga and Maria Mwenya, and mining engineer Sylver Nzam, logging core at the core shed (photo: Ivanhoe).

TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines has completed an independently verified, updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the ultra-high-grade Kakula Discovery at the Kamoa-Kakula copper project, near the mining centre of Kolwezi in the DRC. The project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining and the DRC government. The updated Kakula MRE, prepared under the direction of independent con- sultant Amec Foster Wheeler, covers a

mineralised strike length of 13,3 km. For the first time, the updated estimate incor- porates mineral resources contained in the KakulaWest Discovery area and the saddle area between the main Kakula Discovery area and Kakula West. The new estimate boosts the total tonnage of Kakula’s indicated mineral resources by 50 %, at a 3 % copper cut-off, compared to the previous Kakula resource estimate issued in May 2017 that covered a strike length of 7,7 km. demonstrate the highly prospective nature of the Ity area. While we have only drilled a small portion of the target, its characteris- tics suggest it may have the potential to be the next significant discovery following the Daapleu, Mont Ity and Bakatouo discover- ies. Importantly, with an indicated resource grade of 2,7 g/t, compared with the current Ity CIL reserve grade of 1,5 g/t, the Le Plaque area has the potential to further improve the asset’s already robust production profile. “In 2018, we look forward to continuing exploration at the entire Le Plaque target, and several other near-mill targets, with the aim of delineating additional exten- sions. We are equally excited about our increased greenfield exploration focus with drilling initiating on a number of tar- gets within the wider 100 km Ity corridor which we fully control.” 

More exploration success for Endeavour at Ity TSX-listed Endeavour Mining has reported a high-grade maiden mineral resource esti- mate for its Le Plaque discovery, located within 5 km of the future CIL plant at its Ity gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire. The maiden resource – comprising an indicated resource of 85 koz at 2,70 g/t and an inferred resource of 43 koz at 2,40 g/t – positions Le Plaque to be amongst Ity’s highest grade deposits. Only the central portion has been drilled to date, representing about 25 % of the Le Plaque target, in an area named Le Plaque Main. A new drilling campaign aimed at delineating the extensions and investigat- ing other high-grade targets in proximity is planned for the remainder of 2018.

Comments Patrick Bouisset, Executive Vice-President Exploration and Growth at Endeavour: “We are very pleased with the Le Plaque discovery as it continues to

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MINING News

Prospect establishes lithium carbonate pilot plant

ASX-listed Prospect Resources, which is developing the Arcadia lithium project near Harare in Zimbabwe, has established a labo- ratory complex in the Kwekwe area which is now fully functional and supporting the laboratory scale and pilot scale production of lithium carbonate. The laboratory achievements to date include the recruitment and training of a team of assayers, chemists and engineers and the development of an in-house capacity for metallurgical test work including flotation and leaching test work. In addition, the laboratory has implemented a laboratory scale lithium carbonate production process to demonstrate the amenability and viability of converting Arcadia 4 % Li 2 O petalite concentrates into battery- grade lithium carbonate. “This is a significant achievement for both Prospect Resources and Zimbabwe. Producing high-grade battery-quality lithium car- bonate that exceeds industry norms bodes well for the ultimate company goal of a large-scale lithium carbonate facility in-coun- try,” comments Hugh Warner, Prospect’s Chairman. “This entire process has been designed and built in-country using local skills and services, further demonstrating the business-friendly environ- ment that Zimbabwe is rapidly becoming.” Prospect has also recently announced that it has exercised its option to acquire the Good Days lithium project, which was first signed on 12 June 2017.

Prospect’s lithium carbonate pilot plant showing vacuum filters (photo: Prospect Resources). The 8 km 2 project is located in north-eastern Zimbabwe and contains numerous mineralised pegmatites, including historical workings for spodumene and tantalite (amongst other minerals) at the Good Days and Jordywyitt mines. 

March 2018  MODERN MINING  9

MINING News

SEMAFO plans underground operation at Mana

SEMAFO Inc, listed on the TSX, has announced positive Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) results for its Mana mine. The mine is located in Burkina Faso, 260 km south- west of the capital Ouagadougou. It is the third largest mine in the country, having produced some 1,6 million ounces since its first gold pour in 2008. The Mana PFS provides a revised mine plan for all of Mana, including the Wona- Kona open pit, Siou open pit and Siou underground. The PFS investigated the potential for extracting the deeper zone of the Siou deposit using underground mining opera- tions, mainly long-hole stoping. Access to the operations will be through a single portal and a 5,5 by 5,5 m ramp at a 14 deg slope. The location of the portal will allow mining in the northern part of the Siou pit

Underground mining layout for the Siou mine.

tial contractors. The underground mining costs are estimated at US$70 per tonne milled. The 18-month development period is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2018. According to the PFS, underground operations eliminate the need to mine 62 Mt of open-pit waste. The pre-production capital expenditure to establish Siou underground is estimated at US$51,7 million, to be financed with existing cash. Mana annual production will average over 200 000 ounces between 2019 and 2023 at an all-in sustaining cost of US$810 per ounce at a gold price of US$1 200/oz. Mineral reserves at Mana stand at 18,2 Mt at a grade of 2,92 g/t Au for 1,71 Moz at year-end 2017, based on a gold price of US$1 200 per ounce. SEMAFO has also announced that its 2017 infill drill programme at Boungou , which will be its second mine in Burkina Faso, has added 203 000 ounces of reserves and 201 000 ounces of measured and indi- cated resources. The additional reserves have been pit- constrained at a US$1 200 gold price and are included in the updated reserves and resources statement. As at December 31, 2017, mineral reserves at Boungou stood at 11,2 Mt at 4,11 g/t for 1,5 million ounces of gold. The additional reserves support an average production profile of over 200 000 ounces per year between 2019 and 2023 at an average AISC of US$516 per ounce.  Located 320 km from Ougadougou in the south-east of the country on SEMAFO’s Natougou property, Boungou – which is being developed at a cost of US$231 million – will be a high-grade open-pit mine with the processing facility consisting of a 4 000 tonnes per day CIP plant. As at the end of January this year, it was 83 % complete. The first gold pour is scheduled for Q3 2018. 

to continue uninterrupted. The ultimate size of the underground mining operation will be more than 600 m along strike by 200 m deep. The PFS is based on a 2 000 t/day operation using contractor mining with discussions already ongoing with poten-

Installation of the SAG mill at the new Boungou mine (photo: SEMAFO).

Eastplats to recover chrome from tailings Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) and its sub- sidiary, Barplats Mines, have entered into an agreement with Union Goal Offshore Solution Limited. The agreement pro- vides for the mining and processing of the tailings resource and the subsequent offtake of chrome concentrate from the Barplats Zandfontein UG2 tailings facil- ity (‘Retreatment Project’) located at the Crocodile River Mine in South Africa.

mine and operate the Retreatment Project. The Chrome Circuit is designed to improve on recoveries of chrome concentrate com- pared to traditional technology which could expand available resources for mining and processing. The estimated capital require- ment for Barplats is R164 million. The parties have pre-sourced equipment and the construction phase is estimated to be seven months. Eastplats anticipates the Retreatment Project will result in revenue producing operations, through offtake of the chrome concentrates produced toUnionGoal, when production commences during 2018. 

Union Goal will finance and supply to Barplats the chrome processing circuit, related technology and know-how (the ‘Chrome Circuit’) while Barplats will develop,

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MINING News

in the inferred category at an aver- age grade of 4,07 g/t Au. The updated MRE is based on the results of Algold’s successful explo- ration programme, which included more than 50 000 m of drilling from June 2016 to August 2017, and was prepared only nine months after reporting resources from an initial phase of 23 000 m of drilling. “The increase in gold ounces is primarily due to an increase in the mineral resources at the Eleonore zone over the previous 2017 resource estimate. The increase in resources and the high-grade ounces, at over 4,0 g/t Au, continue to highlight the extensive high- grade gold mineralisation at Tijirit,” said Algold’s CEO, Francois Auclair. “We con- tinue to focus on building and expanding existing resources at Tijirit, which now consist of three larger main mineralised zones (Eleonore, Lily and Salma), all in close proximity, thus enabling many future operating synergies.” 

Algold adds high-grade gold ounces at Tijirit

Drilling at the Tijirit site in Mauritania (photo: Algold Resources).

Algold Resources, listed on the TSX-V, has announced an updated NI 43-101-com- pliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its Tijirit property in Mauritania. The 100 %-owned Tijirit Mine Lease, which encompasses an area of more than 300 km 2 , is situated approximately 25 km south-east of Kinross’ Tasiast gold mine.

Mineral resources were estimated as at January 19, 2018. Resources at the Eleonore zone have increased from 357 920 ounces of gold at an average grade of 4,18 g/t Au in the inferred category to indicated resources of 94 250 ounces of gold at an average grade of 4,08 g/t Au and 394 690 ounces of gold

March 2018  MODERN MINING  11

MINING News

Production ramp-up continues at graphite mine

cost of the repair is not expected to be material. While the Fines Dryer is not operational, Syrah expects to produce approximately 65 % of the volume planned for ramp up during this period. In is recent report for Q4 2017, Syrah said that the construction of Balama was essentially com- plete with the construction and commissioning teams having demobilised and site respon- sibilities handed over to the operations team on 1 January this year. The company said the final project capital cost was US$215 million. First production from Balama was achieved in November last year with customer shipments commencing in January. More than 3 000 tonnes of bagged sale- able flake and fines product had been produced by 27 January. Target production for 2018 is between 160 000 and 180 000 tonnes. Production in 2019 is

The Balama processing plant (photo: Syrah Resources).

expected to be between 250 000 and 300 000 tonnes, subject to global market demand. According to Syrah, mining operations continue to progress well with pre-strip- ping of the BalamaWest orebody complete and steady-state ore mining occurring with plant feed grades now averaging approximately 15 % total graphitic carbon. A small section of hard rock cap will require drill and blast during H1 2018. Mining is expected to be free dig thereafter.  remains relatively under-explored.” Prikro was selected by Altus following a geological assessment of the Birimian meta-sedimentary units of eastern Côte d’Ivoire. The licence contains granites and diorites that are 15 km in length and up to 6 km wide that have intruded through the nose of an anticlinal fold into meta- sedimentary units. An initial first phase of reconnaissance exploration will now be undertaken by the company’s technical team. This programme will include initial mapping and sampling of high priority targets as defined from the company’s satellite imagery analysis and remote sensing work. 

ASX-listed Syrah Resources, developer of the new Balama graphite mine in northern Mozambique, reports it has been continu- ing to ramp up production of flake and fines graphite with increased recoveries and production achieved in February. The company recently advised, how- ever, that an issue has arisen regarding the dryer of the fines graphite circuit (Fines Dryer) at the Balama Operations that has caused damage to the Fines Dryer refrac- tory bricks and the flame tube. The coarse

flake graphite circuit dryer (Flake Dryer) is independent of the Fines Dryer and con- tinues to operate and fines graphite can be rerouted to the Flake Dryer such that pro- duction can continue while the Fines Dryer is being repaired. Syrah says it is currently investigating the cause of the issue and planning repairs to mitigate production impacts with the assistance of the Fines Dryer vendor. The company’s current best estimate of the period of time for repair is eight weeks. The of operation in Africa and the Prikro licence is our tenth gold project within our current portfolio of 16 distinct exploration projects. “Côte d’Ivoire is proven to be prospec- tive for the discovery and development of world-class gold mines and has excellent infrastructure. Several major gold projects are in production or coming on stream in the near future, including Tongon (Randgold Resources), Yaoure (Perseus Mining) and Bonikro (Newcrest Mining). However, while Côte d’Ivoire reportedly contains over 35 % of the Birimian green- stone belts of West Africa, the country

Altus granted Côte d’Ivoire exploration licence Altus Strategies, listed on AIM, has announced that its 100 %-owned subsid- iary, Aeos Gold, has been granted the Prikro gold exploration licence in the Prikro and Koun-Fao departments in Côte d’Ivoire. The licence targets Birimian meta-sedimentary greenstone gold deposits.

Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus, commented: “We are delighted to have been awarded the Prikro gold explora- tion licence in eastern Côte d’Ivoire, which reportedly contains a number of gold occurrences. Strategically, as a project gen- erator business, this marks our sixth country

12  MODERN MINING  March 2018

MINING News

SENET appoints Managing Director

Danakali updates ore reserve at Colluli

ASX-listed Danakali has confirmed an updated JORC-2012-compliant Sulphate of Potash (SOP) ore reserve for the Colluli pot- ash project, located in Eritrea. The project is 100 % owned by the Colluli Mining Share Company (CMSC), a 50:50 joint venture between Danakali and the Eritrean National Mining Corporation (ENAMCO). The SOP ore reserve was updated as part of the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase, which investigated options to improve SOP production and cost outcomes for the project. The ore reserve estimate is based on a plant configuration comprising two processing modules and offsite water infrastructure to support the site water requirements. Modifying factors for the estimation are drawn from the sections of the FEED and DFS reports as required. This is the third SOP ore reserve estimate for the project. The updated estimate for Colluli, at 29 January 2018, is 1 100 Mt at 10,5 % K 2 O for 203 Mt of contained SOP equivalent. It comprises 285 Mt at 11,3 % K 2 O of proved ore reserve and 815 Mt at 10,3 % K 2 O of prob- able ore reserve. Colluli is located in the Danakil Depres­ sion region of Eritrea, approximately 177 km south-east of the capital, Asmara, and 180 km from the port of Massawa, which is Eritrea’s key import/export facility. The Danakil Depression is an emerging potash province, which commences in Eritrea and extends south across the border into Ethiopia. Colluli’s mineralisation commences at just 16 m below surface. Consequently, Colluli has significant mining, logistics and, in turn, capital and operating cost benefits over other potash development projects in the Danakil Depression, and other potash devel- opment projects globally, says Danakali. 

Darren Naylor. The SENET board has announced that Darren Naylor has been appointed as Managing Director of the company, effec- tive 1 March 2018. Based in Johannesburg, SENET is one of the leading project management and engineering firms in the field of mineral processing. The company, which now has around 300 permanent employees, was established in 1989 by Jim Hollywood and Neil Senior, with the early focus being on materials handling. It has since evolved into being the provider of entire minerals processing plants, one of its most recent projects being the gold plant at the recently commissioned Yanfolila mine in Mali. Naylor joined SENET in 2007 as a Project Manager. He was appointed to the Board in 2014, in the role of Business Development Director. He is a Professional Chartered Marketer and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Cum Laude). He progressed his career at SENET as a Project Manager and worked on numerous

Hugo Swart.

projects ranging in value from US$10 mil- lion to US$230 million, most notably spearheading the SENET team on the Twangiza gold project in the eastern DRC. SENET says that Naylor is a strong leader with exceptional interpersonal skills and boasts key competencies in strategy, mar- keting and finance, which he has deployed in diverse business environments and industries. This, coupled with his know­ ledge and experience in the mining and engineering sector, reinforced the SENET Board’s confidence in the appointment. As part of a strategic initiative to ensure the continued enhancement of SENET’s project delivery and engineer- ing capabilities, Hugo Swart, the former MD, will now adopt a new role in the company as Director of Operations. SENET’s Engineering, Process and Project Departments will report directly to Swart in a move that will bolster SENET’s opera- tional capacity. He will also personally focus on key account relationships, which remain an integral part of SENET’s success and business culture. 

March 2018  MODERN MINING  13

MINING News

Positive Scoping Study on Balama Central

at an average rate of approxi- mately 550 000 t/a at 10,6 % Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC) to produce 53 000 to 55 000 tonnes annually of dry graphite concentrate with a grade of approximately 97 % TGC. It is proposed that 100 % of this ore will be mined from the indi- cated resources of 8,9 Mt at 9,3 % TGC. The estimated pre-produc- tion capex is US$50 million with payback in less than 1,5 years. Operating costs are estimated at US$372/t (including blasting costs). The project has a mine life of more than 10 years based on indicated resources only. The flowsheet has been developed based on the results of test work performed on rep- resentative samples and is very similar to that of the Montepuez graphite project (see page 15).

Balama Central – process flowsheet and transport.

It comprises crushing in a primary jaw crusher; closed-circuit milling; rougher flotation; concentrate regrinding and con- centrate cleaning; concentrate filtration; concentrate drying, screening and bag- ging; and tails thickening and disposal. Battery Minerals says it is possible that it could fund development of Balama Central from cashflow from its Montepuez graph- ite project, approximately 60 km north of Balama Central. Montepuez is currently in the early stages of construction and reportedly remains on target for commis- sioning in the December 2018 quarter. It is expected that it will export its first shipment of graphite concentrate in the March 2019 quarter.  jobs during the construction phase and is expected to create 75 permanent jobs dur- ing the operation phase.   The inauguration of the newpower plant, located approximately 350 km north east of Burkina Faso’s capital city, Ouagadougou, took place on 16March andwas attended by representatives from IAMGOLD andWärtsilä, as well as the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. Wärtsilä has been contracted to operate andmaintain the plant under an Operations & Maintenance agreement. With the com- pletion of the project, Wärtsilä now has over 7 GW of installed capacity in Africa. 

ASX-listed Battery Minerals has completed a Scoping Study on its Balama Central graphite project located in northern Mozambique. According to the company, the study describes a project with glob- ally competitive low operating costs and a high value concentrate with the potential to deliver strong operating cashflows over a long period. The study is an interim step towards completing a feasibility study which Battery Minerals expects to finish in mid-2018. The Scoping Study targeted product specifications, operations costs, capital costs and a development strat- egy that would ideally complement the company’s other graphite development

project in the same area, Montepuez. Battery Minerals’ Managing Director, David Flanagan, said the study showed Balama Central had outstanding poten- tial. “We have identified a very strong operating and financial balance for Balama Central and, while the outcome is extremely strong, we still think there is room for further improvements as part of the feasibility studies. With this robust development strategy now clearly mapped out, we will move to secure our mining concession, progress the detailed engineering and design work and secure additional offtake agreements.” Under the Scoping Study, it is pro- posed to mine the Balama Central deposit dent power producer Total Eren SA and African Energy Management Platform (AEMP) to build the plant. Made of close to 130 000 photovoltaic panels, the 15 MW solar power plant com- plements the existing 57 MW heavy fuel oil (HFO) power plant. It is estimated that fuel consumption at Essakane will be reduced by some 6 million litres per year as a result of the installation. In addition, annual CO 2 emissions will be reduced by as much as 18 500 tons. The project generated more than 200

Solar hybrid power plant inaugurated at Essakane What is reported to be the world’s largest solar hybrid power plant has been inaugu- rated at the Essakane goldmine of IAMGOLD Essakane SA in Burkina Faso. The facility will provide a reliable and sustainable supply of round-the-clock energy which is essential in operating the off-grid gold mine.

Commissioned in 2010, Essakane pro- duced 389 000 ounces of gold attributable to IAMGOLD – which has a 90 % interest in the mine – in 2017. Technology groupWärtsilä was selected by the global renewable energy indepen-

14  MODERN MINING  March 2018

MINING News

DFS work starts on Segilola gold project

Battery Minerals sets a “cracking pace” at Montepuez

nomics at a low capital cost, but also identified several specific opportunities for further project optimisation,” comments Segun Lawson, President and CEO of Thor. “These are the focus areas of the DFS, as we strive to enhance the Segilola project’s value for all of our stakeholders. In addition to the DFS work and near-term develop- ment of Segilola, we are continuing with exploration at Segilola and progressing our pipeline opportunities both in Nigeria and Senegal, with a focus on generating medium-long term value.” Segilola is located in Osun State of south-western Nigeria approximately 120 km from Lagos. Gold mineralisation extends from surface to a depth of up to 300 m down dip over a strike length of 2 km. It is anticipated that the deposit will be developed as an open-pit mine served by a new 500 000 t/a processing plant, which consists of a conventional crushing circuit, single stage grinding, CIL, elution, electrowinning and smelting to produce gold doré. The mine will produce an aver- age of 81 000 oz/a in years 1 to 3 and 47 000 oz/a in years 4 to 7. Pre-production capex is estimated at US$71,4 million. The mine is to be developed in three stages, incorporating two interim stage pits. Mining operations will be carried out using conventional drill-and-blast and load-and-haul mining methods with 3,5 Mt of ore and 62,0 Mt of waste being extracted over a period of seven years. A detailed mining schedule has been devel- oped that requires minimal pre-stripping prior to plant commissioning. Thor recently won the ‘Investment Battlefield’ competition at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town for the project. 

Thor Explorations, listed on the TSX-V, has begun Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) work and pre-development workstreams at its 100 %-owned Segilola gold project in Nigeria. The DFS workstreams are targeted towards de-risking and optimising the project following the completion of the Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) in October 2017. The PFS returned robust economics with an after tax NPV 5% of US$138 million and an IRR of 53 %, with a number of specific opportunities with the potential to enhance the project economics. Drilling has commenced, initially focused on metallurgical, open-pit infill resource drilling and geotechnical drilling. Following completion of this programme, Thor intends to continue with further resource drilling on identified opportunities. The company has also initiated a detailed fixed-wing LIDAR and photo- imagery survey of the exploration licence (incorporating the mining licence) that will provide an accurate topographical base for site planning and detailed design engi- neering. It will also provide further social and environmental information and addi- tional data for exploration activities. Thor is also continuing to assess the resource potential at depth with a view to a potential future transition of operations from open pit to underground, extend- ing the mine life beyond the PFS mine plan. Further exploration work has also been planned to investigate identified geochemical anomalies on strike, assess- ing the potential for near-pit satellite opportunities. “The PFS not only returned solid eco-

Australia’s Battery Minerals reports that it is well on track to start producing graphite at its Montepuez graphite project in northern Mozambique by November this year, with rapid progress being made on key con- struction items and supply contracts. Several long-lead items have been ordered, other equipment has already arrived on site and key supply contracts have been awarded. Following Battery Minerals’ successful capital raising in late 2017, the company is fully-funded for these purchases and early earthworks totalling A$10 million. The prices of these items are within previ- ous budget estimates and in line with the costings provided in the Value Engineering Study (VES). Battery Minerals’ Managing Director, David Flanagan, said the company’s devel- opment strategy was progressing to plan. “The company has placed orders for all the long-lead items to lock in delivery times, which will in turn help ensure we start com- missioning Montepuez in late 2018. “With recruitment well underway, off- take agreements in place, early earthworks happening and processing plant mobilis- ing to site, the team has set a cracking pace and used the wet season to lock down all key equipment supply contracts and get ahead on services and early works.” The current development at Montepuez is Stage 1, which is an approximately 50 000 t/a graphite flake project, with a life of at least 20 years. Battery Minerals has also disclosed its intention to grow produc- tion to approximately 100 000 t/a through the execution of Montepuez Stage 2. 

March 2018  MODERN MINING  15