Modern Mining March 2018

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,

10  MODERN MINING  March 2018