Modern Mining March 2019

March 2019 Vol 15 No 3 www.crown.co.za M ODERN MINING IN THIS ISSUE…

 Thor delivers positive DFS on Segilola  Copper project in Botswana ready to roll  Liqhobong diamond mine performing well  Mining contractor looks to Africa for growth  Study on Lindi Jumbo project updated

MODERN M I N I N G

CONTENTS

MARCH 2019

ARTICLES

COVER 18 Tenova TAKRAF AFRICA ready for projected growth VANADIUM 22 Bushveld Vametco on an expansion path FEATURE: DIAMOND MINING 28 Poor diamond market challenges Liqhobong 32 Voorspoed – leaving a legacy 36 Letšeng sets new records MINING CONTRACTING 38 Basil Read Mining keen to extend its African footprint 43 Diesel Power opts for Hyundai GRAPHITE 44 Walkabout enhances the case for Lindi Jumbo New CEO for Asanko Gold 10 Botswana court sides with Nornickel 11 Paladin approves PFS on Langer Heinrich restart 12 Cardinal Resources wins prestigious Thayer Lindsley award 13 Students visit world-class Training Academy 14 RopeCon® system at Booysendal now operational 15 Gonka to be incorporated into Yanfolila mine plan 16 De Beers to consolidate its assets in SA and Canada 17 Agreement on small-scale manganese project signed PRODUCT NEWS 48 Coal mine standardises on conveyor drives 48 New branding for blasting services provider 49 Bulk bag filler handles chunks and semi-solids 50 Elf Drilling is first SA buyer of BenchREMOTE 51 Blasting solutions take mines into digital age 52 Multotec’s ceramic impellers boost uptime at DRC mine 53 BOOT solution takes capex pressure off coal miners 54 AfroxPac 35i self-rescuers more dependable than ever 55 Knife gate valves withstand harsh slurries 56 Sliding wear plates prove themselves on drill rig REGULARS MINING NEWS 4 DFS on Segilola delivers positive results 7 8 9 Golden Hill shapes up to be Teranga’s third mine Cupric Canyon secures financing for Khoemacau

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 Tel: (+27 11) 622-4770 Fax: (+27 11) 615-6108 e-mail: mining@crown.co.za www.modernminingmagazine.co.za

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Publisher of the Year 2018 (Trade Publications)

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Cover TAKRAF Africa apron feeders en route to a client in theWestern Cape. See our cover story on page 18 for a full story on TAKRAF Africa.

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Average circulation (October–December 2018) 5047

March 2019  MODERN MINING  1

COMMENT

Africa’s share of global exploration spend shrinks

L ooking at S&P Global Market Intel- ligence’s latest report on minerals exploration, the good news is that 2018 saw the global exploration budget increasing for a second con- secutive year. The bad news is that Africa’s share of the budget has dropped, resulting in the continent now ranking only fifth in the world as a destination for exploration, behind Latin America, the Rest of the World region (which covers Europe and most of mainland Asia), Canada and Australia. The report, entitled World Exploration Trends 2018 , was released to coincide with this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) International Convention in Toronto. Based on data collected from over 3 300 companies, it covers non-ferrous exploration. The all-time peak for global exploration occurred in 2012 when budgets collectively exceeded US$21 billion. The spending for 2018 totals US$10,1 billion, less than half the 2012 figure; this nevertheless represents a 19 % growth year over year (YOY) compared with US$8,5 billion in 2017. The upward trend is expected to continue with S&P Global pre- dicting that 2019 will show further growth of between 5 and 10 % on the 2018 figure as the positive fundamentals for most metals encour- age increased activity. According to the report, the industry remains “short of critical new discoveries, and some metals, such as copper, will see widen- ing deficits without additional investment in exploration for the mines of the future.” An interesting trend is that the proportion of budgets directed to grassroots or generative exploration fell to an all-time low of 26 % in 2018. Part of the reason for this is that junior explorers tend to spend the scarce funding they have on proven assets during downturns. The decline also reflects the fact that the majors are increasingly focused on late-stage and mine- site exploration, allocating just 0,4 % of their revenues in 2018 to grassroots exploration com- pared to the peak of 2 % allocated in 1997. Majors still dominate exploration, account- ing for US$4,97 billion of total spend with juniors contributing just over US$3 billion. In all, says S&P Global, 1 651 companies were actively engaged in exploration in 2018; this was 8 % more than in 2017 but still one-third fewer than the 2012 peak. Gold accounted for half of global budgets in 2018 with an increase of 18 % YOY, fol- lowed by copper, which attracted 22 % of total

spend, and lead/zinc with 7 %. With all the hype about battery metals, it’s no surprise to learn that both lithium and cobalt did well in 2018. Lithium exploration budgets reached a new high of US$247,1 million, a 58 % increase year over year, while spending on cobalt at US$110,8 million was more than triple the 2017 figure of US$35,9 million. Uranium and diamonds each accounted for around 2 % of total spend in 2018 and plati- num group metals – somewhat surprisingly – just 1 %. Specifically on the subject of drilling activ- ity, the report notes that this increased in 2018. In 2017, explorers reported results from 43 312 drill holes at 1 132 projects worldwide. The comparable figures for 2018 were 49 239 holes at 1 261 projects, representing increases of 14 % and 11 % respectively. Grassroots drilling jumped nearly 13 % glob- ally year over year in 2018, with Mexico, the US and Canada being the largest contributors to the increase. On the subject of Africa, the report has this to say: “Africa dropped to fifth place from third with 13 % of the global budget; however, only US$51 million separated the region from fourth- place Australia. The most significant African exploration destinations included Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. A continued focus by explorers on West Africa (Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire in particular) gave gold the largest allocation again in 2018.” As far as I can see, South Africa is not men- tioned by name anywhere in the report – which perhaps gives some indication of how our sta- tus as a leading resources and mining country has been eroded over the past few years. On balance, one would have to say that the S&P Global report is positive, with most figures going the right way. But one can’t help feeling a bit of unease at Africa’s declining share of the global exploration budget. Given the potential of the continent, Africa’s share of explora- tion spend should be increasing rather than declining and one can only hope that the trend reverses soon. After all, this is a continent that is still rela- tively underexplored and which still offers the opportunity for big ‘finds’ – as we’ve seen with the Waterberg PGM project in South Africa, the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the DRC and the copper/silver discoveries of MOD Resources and Cupric Canyon in the Kalahari Copperbelt of Botswana. Arthur Tassell

“Africa dropped to fifth place from third with 13 % of the global budget; however, only US$51 million separated the

region from fourth-place Australia.”

March 2019  MODERN MINING  3

MINING News

DFS on Segilola delivers positive results of a new 625 000 tonnes per annum (t/a) processing plant. The DFS envisions a construction start date in Q2 2019 and an 18-month construction period with an initial five-year mine life. Pre-production capital is estimated at US$87 million.

Thor Explorations, listed on the TSX‑V, has announced positive results for its independent Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) on an open-pit operation at its 100 %-owned Segilola gold project, located approximately 120 km north east of Lagos in the Osun region of Nigeria. The company also reports that it has completed an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), undertaken by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc, for a pro- posed supplemental Underground (UG) project at Segilola. The DFS project comprises an open- pit mine and will include the construction

The UG project considers an initial three-year underground operation which can be brought on streamduring the open- pit mine life to supplement the open-pit ore with high grade underground produc- tion. The deposit remains open below the resources considered in the UG project. The planned open pit is 1 600 m long, 140 m to 430 m wide and 55 m to 210 m

A visualisation of the Segilola processing plant.

deep and covers an area of 43 ha. Three pushbacks are planned, The proposed open-pit mining method utilises an exca- vator and truck fleet – 200-t excavators and 90-t dump trucks are envisaged – for both ore and waste. A large part of the mined material will require drill and blast. Mining operations last for 45 months, with processing continuing for a further 19 months. Sizable stockpiles are created, allowing processing to continue for some time after mining ends. Mining in advance of the processing demand allows the ore supply to be smoothed out and also allows better grades to be processed earlier in the overall schedule. A detailed mining schedule has been developed that requires minimal pre- stripping prior to plant commissioning. Production will initially commence from the high-grade northern pit, which out- crops at surface and – along with the Stage 2 pit which commences after nine months – will return an average head grade of approximately 6,3 g/t for the first 12 months of operation. Stage 3 com- mences in month 14 upon the completion of Stage 1, with a cut back of the south- ern wall of the Stage 2 pit to the final pit design. The mining schedule incorporates stockpile management such that the pro- cessing plant feed grade is smoothed in

A drill site at Segilola (photo: Thor Explorations).

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MINING News

CNG will be delivered to site by road tanker. Water for the plant will be provided from the plant feed water dam to the east of the processing plant, via a raw water pond. Water will be sourced as reclaimed water from the TMF as well as supple- mented from the raw water system. “We are excited to kick off the year with a robust Definitive Feasibility Study of the Segilola open-pit project and the Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Segilola Underground project,” com- mented Thor’s President and CEO, Segun Lawson. “Both these studies confirm the robust- ness of Segilola and the significant upside potential that exists. The Feasibility Study confirms that the initial Segilola open pit is a high-margin gold project generat- ing a robust post-tax IRR of 50 % with an excellent 1,4 year payback and an NPV 5% of US$138 million with excellent leverage to gold price sensitivity. The Underground Preliminary Economic Assessment dem- onstrates an initial view of the potential of the deposit which remains open at depth whilst already potentially providing an additional NPV 5% of US$35 million to the project. “We are also pleased to announce that the company is in advanced discussions with project financiers and is proceed- ing with EPC turnkey documentation with its preferred EPC contractor, Norinco International (who assisted the company in the development of the Feasibility Study), with a view to commencing construction at Segilola in Q2-2019.” He added that the Government of Nigeria was strongly promoting the growth of the mining industry and was offering a compelling fiscal incentive programme to support companies in the development of the country’s mineral resource sector. 

For the open-pit project alone, the treatment of the ore will result in the pro- duction of approximately 625 000 t/a of tailings. The TMF will be located 1,3 km south-west of the process plant and will consist of a single valley-style embank- ment (North) and two small saddle dams (West and East). Electrical power will be generated on site. During construction, a 400 kW/400 V and a 200 kW/400 V diesel generator will be installed by the contractor at the pro- cessing plant and at the camp. The permanent main power supply for processing will be provided by seven 1,2 MW Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) generators, five of which will be on duty and two on stand-by. Emergency power will be provided by a 640 kW/400 V 50 Hz diesel-powered generator. Diesel and

order to optimise project cash flows. Thor intends to engage an experienced mining contractor for the drill, blast, load and haul operations. The processing plant will consist of a conventional crush, grind, gravity, and leach process, followed by carbon adsorp- tion and then elution at high pressure and temperature, electrowinning and doré bar production by induction furnace. Leach tailings will be treated using the SO 2 /air process to destroy cyanide in the tailings, prior to their being pumped to the Tailings Management Facility (TMF). Water will be recovered and pumped back from the TMF to the processing plant for re-use in the process. Life-of-mine average recovery is esti- mated to be 97 % resulting in life-of-mine production of 393 400 ounces.

March 2019  MODERN MINING  5

MINING News

Vedanta’s Gamsberg zinc project officially opened

President Cyril Ramaphosa officially opened Vedanta Zinc International (VZI)’s Gamsberg mine, outside Aggeneys in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, on 28 February. President Ramaphosa was joined by Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe and Northern Cape Premier Sylvia Lucas. They were hosted by Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, Vedanta CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan and VZI CEO Deshnee Naidoo. The Gamsberg zinc resource, though discovered more than 40 years ago, was held undeveloped in the portfolios of vari- ous South African mining companies until Vedanta acquired it in 2011, as part of the Black Mountain Mining complex. Vedanta gave the project the go-ahead in 2014 and the first blast occurred in mid-2015, just eight months later. Gamsberg has a reserve and resource of more than 214 Mt with a grade of between 6 % and 6,5 % zinc and an estimated life of mine (LoM) of 30+ years. Phase 1 of Gamsberg represents a US$400 million investment by Vedanta in South Africa. It has a LoM of 13 years and

Cindy Hendricks, Gamsberg electrical engineer, shows President Cyril Ramaphosa an augmented reality model of the Gamsberg open pit while Minister Gwede Mantashe looks on (photo: VZI).

will see 4 Mt/a of ore produced from the open pit and 250 000 t/a of concentrate from the concentrator plant. Investigations into Phase 2 and 3 are underway and will see ore mined increase to 8 Mt/a and production of zinc-in-con-

centrate to 450 000 t/a, and, in a modular fashion, ultimately to 600 000 t/a. These phases will reflect an additional invest- ment of US$350 to US$400 million. Vedanta is simultaneously pursuing a feasibility study into the development and

A striking view of the Gamsberg processing plant (photo: VZI).

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MINING News

Ramaphosa said the Gamsberg project was “an important step in our shared journey to revive our mining industry. It confirms our view that with an effective regulatory frame- work, improved collaboration between all stakeholders and sustained investment, min- ing has the potential to be a sunrise industry. South Africa has vast undeveloped mineral deposits that we have the opportunity to exploit for the benefit of all the people of this country.” Gamsberg is located in the ecologically sensitive Succulent Karoo Biome – one of the world’s 35 ‘biodiversity hotspots’. VZI’s bio­ diversity action plan includes the preservation of plants and seeds for post-mining replanting, and a biodiversity offset programme involving the purchase of 12 500 ha of land. Gamsberg is reported to be one of the most digitally advanced greenfields mining projects in South Africa. Digitalisation at Gamsberg includes Smart Ore Movement, Spatial Risk Monitoring and Management and Collision Avoidance Systems.  a solid base from which to grow Golden Hill and reaffirms our interpretations that most of the prospects offer substantial upside,” said Paul Chawrun, Teranga’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are pleased with the grades, strong continuity and widespread mineralisation at Golden Hill. Given the encouraging results of this early-stage initial resource estimate, our confidence in – and understanding of – the project geology, recent discoveries and the proven mineral potential of the region, our priority is to increase the number of resource ounces and advance the project through a PEA and into the feasibility stage of development.” Drilling at Golden Hill has identified and partially outlined numerous at-sur- face, oxide-hosted mineralised gold zones demonstrating excellent along trend and to- depth continuity. These gold zones extend to considerable depths below the oxide- hosted mineralisation transitioning into fresh brecciated and altered shear zones that remain open to further depth expansion. “We recognise the paramount impor- tance of structural controls on the gold zones and will focus ongoing exploration efforts on identifying additional favourable structural trends that should add resources through drilling evaluations,” said David Mallo, Teranga’s Vice President, Exploration. 

construction of a smelter-refinery complex. Over 3 000 people were employed during the construction of Phase 1 – more than half of whomwere recruited from the Northern Cape, with over 25 % from local communities. When in full production, Gamsberg will employ 800‑850 people. Speaking at the opening, Venkatakrishnan reflected on his time in the South African min- ing industry and the pride he felt as President Ramaphosa opened Gamsberg. He also high- lighted Vedanta’s local procurement and CSR spend, noting that “Local procurement is criti- cal to economic development. More than 90 % of our US$400 million investment at Gamsberg has been spent in South Africa. Our expendi- ture with local enterprises was around R77,5 million in 2018, while we invested more than R44,6 million in 2018 on training and social projects aimed at skills development, edu- cation, health, enterprise development and municipal infrastructure support. And this was before the mine had made a single cent.” Delivering the keynote address, President Indicated mineral resources total 6,40 Mt averaging 2,02 g/t gold for 415 000 ounces while inferred mineral resources total 11,95 Mt averaging 1,68 g/t gold for 644 000 ounces. This initial resource estimation includes the following prospects: Ma Main, Ma North, Jackhammer Hill, Peksou/C-Zone, Nahiri, A-Zone and B-Zone. “It is still very early in our exploration programme. However, after only 18 months of drilling, Golden Hill has advanced rap- idly and we are increasingly confident that Golden Hill will ultimately represent Teranga’s third gold mine,” said Richard Young, Teranga’s President and CEO. “With an early-stage initial resource esti- mate in hand, the focus now is on advancing the metallurgical test work required to pro- duce the initial technical and economic assessments. The completion of these assess- ments is a prerequisite to drawing down on the debt facility in place to take Golden Hill into the feasibility stage of development.” “Our initial resource estimate provides

Golden Hill shapes up to be Teranga’s third mine Canada’s Teranga Gold Corporation, listed on the TSX, has announced an initial min- eral resource estimate for its Golden Hill advanced exploration project, located within the central part of the highly miner- alised Houndé greenstone belt in south-west Burkina Faso.

March 2019  MODERN MINING  7

MINING News

The ore from the Zone 5 Starter Project will be treated in the Boseto concentrator, seen here (photo: Arthur Tassell).

Cupric Canyon secures financing for Khoemacau

Khoemacau Copper Mines (Khoemacau) and Cupr ic Canyon Capital have announced major progress towards the construction of the Khoemacau copper/sil- ver project in Botswana with the signing of a ‘Project Funding Package’ to commence development of the project. Khoemacau is owned by Cupric Canyon Capital. The highlights include US$565 million of funding including a US$275 million senior debt facility from Red Kite Mine Finance (RKMF), a US$265 million silver stream from Royal Gold AG (RG AG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Gold, Inc, and a US$25million subordinated debt facility from RG AG. The funding will be used for construc- tion of the Khoemacau Starter Project processing ore from a 91 Mt resource at a head grade of 2,02 % copper and 21,4 g/t silver. The direct construction cost of the Starter Project is US$397 million over a two-year construction timeline. Khoemacau and Cupric (together referred to here as the ‘company’) have been developing the Khoemacau project, a 4 040 km 2 land package in north-west Botswana, over the past six years. One of the deposits within the project, Zone 5, was initially discovered in 2012 and has since become the flagship deposit since it

was acquired in 2013. Since then, the com- pany has drilled 285 000 m, completed permitting and land access agreements, secured the required power and water, and undertaken advanced engineering, procurement and mobilisation such that it is ready for full construction release of the Starter Project, pending closing of the proj- ect funding package. In 2015, Khoemacau and Cupric acquired the Boseto assets (a previously operated copper project adjacent to Zone 5) following the insolvency of that company’s parent. This acquisition offered access to the 3,0 Mt/a Boseto processing facility, located 35 km from Zone 5, along with extensive infrastructure, and vari- ous mineral resources and licences. Since acquisition, the Boseto assets have been incorporated into the Starter Project devel- opment plan. The Starter Project will see the fully mechanised underground mining of sul- phide ores at Zone 5 at a rate of 3,6 Mt/a using the upgraded Boseto processing facility for crushing, milling, flotation and production of a high-grade copper/silver concentrate. Three separate but adjacent under- ground mines will be developed at Zone 5, each producing 1,2 Mt/a on average for the

first five years. Each of the mines will have its own independent ramp access and operate over a strike length of approxi- mately 1 000 m, extracting ore using a conventional sub-level open stoping min- ing method. The mined ore will be trucked to the Boseto processing facility, which will be refurbished and enhanced to process 3,6 Mt/a. Processing will be conventional sulphide flotation via three-stage crush- ing, ball milling and flotation, which will produce a concentrate for shipment to African and international smelters. Power will be sourced from the Botswana Power Corporation grid via a 56 km overhead transmission line connec- tion. Existing diesel generation capacity remaining from the previous Boseto opera- tions will be used as backup power. Water will be supplied from three borefields along with dewatering boreholes from the mines at Zone 5. The Starter Project is expected to pro- duce a high quality copper concentrate with an average grade of approximately 40 % copper and high-grade silver. This results in average production of 62 000 tonnes of copper and 1,9 Moz of silver per annum over a 21-year mine life. The aver- age life-of-mine C1 cash cost, net of silver

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MINING News

New CEO for Asanko Gold

by-product credits, is US$1,47/lb at con- sensus pricing and US$1,67/lb including sustaining capex, and before accounting for the silver stream. With financial close expected early in the second quarter of 2019 and a two-year construction timeline, the Starter Project is forecast to produce first concentrate beginning in the first half of 2021. Johan Ferreira, CEO of the company, commented:“Securing the Project Funding package by partnering with two of the industry’s leading global providers of mine finance, Royal Gold and Red Kite, allows us to move forward energetically with all project development activities. This step marks the completion of a remarkable evolution of the company from discovery of Zone 5 in 2012 to full construction of a high-quality copper asset in 2019. “Being able to commence the devel- opment of a large scale fully mechanised mine and deliver high-quality jobs and sustainable development in the Kalahari Copper Belt reflects not only the quality of the mining environment in Botswana but also the strong support of Government towards foreign investment and newmine development.” The company’s short-term plan is to achieve safe, reliable production from the Starter Project. The long-term plan is to expand Khoemacau to approximately 5,8 Mt/a by constructing a new standalone process plant at Zone 5. A pre-feasibility study was completed on the Expansion Project in 2015, and the company intends advancing this to a definitive feasibility study and then full engineering for this in conjunction with the construction of the Starter Project. The Expansion Project is expected to produce approximately 100 000 tonnes of copper per annum. 

Asanko Gold Inc, listed on the TSX and NYSE American, has announced the appointment of Greg McCunn as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Asanko with effect fromApril 1, 2019. Peter Breese, current President and CEO, will transition to the newly created position of President and Chief Operating Officer, reporting to McCunn, and will remain a Director of the company. McCunn, who was previously with Asanko as CFO from 2011 to 2017, will lead the implementation of the company’s corporate strategy and the executive team from Asanko’s head office in Vancouver. Breese will remain responsible for the operations of the company’s flagship Asanko Gold Mine (AGM) in Ghana and maintain oversight on the large scale Esaase development programme. He will also oversee the company’s technical team in its Johannesburg project office. Commenting on the announcement, Breese said: “I am very pleased to be work- ing with Greg again as we seek to grow and expand our company for the ben- efit of all our stakeholders. Greg’s in-depth knowledge of the business, the country, our values and processes will make this a seamless transition.” “I’m excited to be reuniting with Peter and the leadership teams at Asanko,” said McCunn. “When we created Asanko in 2013, our vision was to use the Asanko Gold Mine as a platform to build a mid- tier gold producer. With the operations performing well and the balance sheet strong, the company is well positioned to take the next important steps to execute this vision.” McCunn has over 25 years’ experience

Greg McCunn.

in finance, operations, project engineer- ing, project construction and corporate development. Most recently he served as CEO of Alio Gold Inc, a junior gold mining company with operations in Mexico and Nevada. Prior to his earlier time at Asanko, he served as the CFO for Farallon Mining. During his tenure with Farallon, the com- pany financed, constructed and operated the G-9 mine in Guerrero, Mexico. Farallon was sold to Nyrstar in early 2011. McCunn is a Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering and a Masters degree in Business Administration. 

March 2019  MODERN MINING  9

MINING News

Botswana court sides with Nornickel

in September 2016. Yet the BCL Group failed to perform its obligations. Instead, in October 2016, the Botswana Government applied to the High Court of Botswana and placed the BCL entities into provisional liq- uidation,” says the company. Nornickel notes that it was looking to pursue its claim for damages in the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and requested permission to do so from the courts of Botswana. In June 2018, the Botswana court rejected such permis- sion. This decision has now been reversed by the Botswana Court of Appeal in its judgement, which was handed down on 8 February this year. Nornickel states that it has also filed a reckless trading claim against the Government of Botswana (BCL’s ultimate shareholder), seeking a declaration that it is responsible for the liabilities of the BCL entities. 

The Botswana Court of Appeal has handed down a judgment in favour of Nornickel ruling that the dispute between the Russian company and Botswana’s BCL Group over the failed sale of Nornickel’s interest in Nkomati must, in accordance with the parties’ initial agreement, be brought before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). In a statement, Nornickel says it agrees with the conclusion of the Botswana Court of Appeal that a denial of permis- sion for LCIA proceedings would have resulted in serious injustice as it would have prevented Nornickel ever proving its claims. Nornickel says the LCIA will now have to determine whether all conditions precedent to the transaction had been fulfilled and to assess the damages to be

paid by the BCL Group to Nornickel. Michael Marriott, Norilsk Nickel Africa’s Chief Executive, said: “We welcome the decision of the Botswana Court of Appeal, which proves Nornickel right and allows it to pursue its claims in the LCIA. Sadly, and in spite of announcements by top public officials in Botswana, Nornickel’s claims have still not been settled, though we have made significant efforts to arrive at a compromise. We hope that the LCIA proceedings will now help to bring this lingering dispute to a close.” Giving the background to the dis- pute, Nornickel says that in October 2014 Nornickel and the BCL Group signed share purchase agreements, which provided for the transfer to the BCL Group of Nornickel’s interests in the Nkomati and Tati mines. “The agreements became unconditional

The Nkomati nickel mine, seen here, is located in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa and is a joint venture between ARM and Nornickel.

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MINING News

Paladin approves PFS on Langer Heinrich restart

and also to make well considered, low cost investments in the rapid restart option. This includes some necessary repairs and equipment replacement, scheduled tailings dam construction, additional surge capacity to increase process stabil- ity, process control system upgrade and deployment of a comprehensive man- agement operating system which have been implemented in many operations in Australia to great effect. “The PFS would also examine Langer Heinrich’s capacity to produce a saleable vanadium product as a way of increasing the project’s long-term value. As a co- product credit, this would effectively lower Langer Heinrich’s cost of uranium produc- tion,” Sullivan said. The PFS is to be completed in two stages, with the examination of a rapid, low-risk restart for Langer Heinrich to be completed in Q1 FY20 and a more detailed study for process upgrades to be com- pleted in Q3 FY20. 

lion, back-end upgrade execution of US$22 million and working capital of US$50 million. The remaining plant opti- misation capital is expected to be funded from operating cash flows following a ramp up to full production. Paladin placed Langer Heinrich on care and maintenance (C&M) in May 2018 due to the sustained low uranium spot price and successfully transitioned the mine to full C&M in August 2018. Paladin Chief Executive Officer Scott Sullivan commented that the concept study found Langer Heinrich could be restarted relatively quickly in response to strengthening uranium prices. The mine could be back in full production as early as mid-2021 subject to validation in the study, allowing it to be a first mover in the market if the uranium price recovery continued. “The study identified improvements to resolve known processing issues we have encountered in the project’s life to date

ASX-listed Paladin Energy is to commence a PFS for the restart of the Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia after a concept study completed by the company identi- fied multiple options to reduce operating costs, improve uranium process reliability and potentially recover a saleable vana- dium product. The PFS is expected to cost US$6,2 million and will be funded from existing cash resources. The concept study commenced in September 2018 and was completed on schedule in February 2019. It generated a conceptual plan that puts Paladin in a strong position to restart Langer Heinrich when there is a sustained recovery in ura- nium prices. The concept study verified that the initial capital funding requirements for a restart of Langer Heinrich are expected to be relatively low, approximately US$100 million, including capital for plant repair and improvement of US$24 million, tailings facility construction of US$4 mil-

March 2019  MODERN MINING  11

MINING News

Cardinal Resources wins prestigious Thayer Lindsley award Cardinal Resources team.

with a recent significant mineral discov- ery anywhere in the world. In the case of Cardinal, it recognises the company’s 2014 discovery of the Namdini gold deposit in north-eastern Ghana, which is considered one of the most significant gold discover- ies in West Africa so far this century. Cardinal’s CEO and MD, Archie Koim­ tsidis, said he was honoured and delighted to accept the award on behalf of the entire

Cardinal Resources has been named as the winner of the 2019 Thayer Lindsley Award by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). The award, which is open to individuals and teams of any nationality, honours the memory of Thayer Lindsley, considered to be one of the greatest mine finders of all time. The award itself recognises an indi- vidual or a team of explorationists credited

“There had been some previous indi- cations of gold mineralisation along the Nangodi greenstone belt in north-eastern Ghana, but until we began the reverse cir- culation (RC) drilling programme in 2014, the area was largely unexplored,” he said. After Cardinal’s first successful explo- ration pass, encouraging results from subsequent RC holes gave the company confidence to step out 600 m along strike of the mineralised trend with its first dia- mond drill hole in 2015. “The step-out intersected 15 m at 0,9 g/t gold, 10 m at 1,0 g/t gold and 41 m at 1,2 g/t gold,” said Koimtsidis. “This marked the beginning of a programme of widely spaced drill fences (100 m along strike) designed to determine the extent of the Namdini deposit, which is currently 1 100 m long and 350 mwide. We currently have an ore reserve of 4,76 Moz and it will be mined as an open pit. “On the strength of this, and other consistently positive results, we went to Hartleys in Perth to raise A$5 million to further investigate the project,” said Koimtsidis. “We completed the pre-fea- sibility study on Namdini in September 2018, and have moved to a full Definitive Feasibility Study now which we expect to be completed in late 2019.” Cardinal Resources was presented with its award at the PDAC gala dinner and awards ceremony in Toronto on March 5. 

Night drilling at the Namdini project (photo: Cardinal Resources).

12  MODERN MINING  March 2019

MINING News

Students visit world-class Training Academy

our targeted and holistic approach, in which we apply simulators in a blended learning experience,”says Tony Pretorius, the education, training and development (ETD) executive at Murray & Roberts Cementation.“This improves the way we transfer knowledge and build capacity among South African companies to strengthen and build the local mining sector.” Learners at Bentley Park complete struc- tured e-learning modules, followed by visual training and pre-simulation training. They then undergo simulation training, followed by in-workplace learning using an actual machine under the direct supervision of a competent person. “This is how we apply the situational leadership development model of ‘Tell, Sell, Participate and Delegate’,” says Pretorius. 

Final year mining engineering students from the University of Pretoria recently had a taste of Murray & Roberts Cementation’s highly effective simulated learning environment. The company’s world-class Training Academy at Bentley Park near Carletonville in Gauteng Province offers a unique blend of e-learning and experiential learning in simula- tion conditions. The facility includes mock-ups of mine development areas and shafts, as well as a virtual reality blast wall which the Tuks stu- dents were able to experience. With their leading-edge, technology-driven approach, executives from Murray & Roberts Cementation often lecture at local tertiary institutions and universities, adding to the knowledge base of students. “The Tuks students were able to appreciate

Final year mining engineering students from the University of Pretoria recently had a taste of Murray & Roberts Cementation’s highly effective simulated learning environment.

Hybrid power system possible for Prieska project Orion Minerals, the ASX- and JSE-listed mining company, has entered into a col- laboration agreement with juwi Renewable Energies to investigate renewable energy generation for its flagship Prieska zinc- copper project.

try with its hot, dry climate and is also very well-suited for wind farms,” said Errol Smart, Managing Director and CEO of Orion. The region is already a well-established renewable energy generating region with 190 MW of solar power plants in operation and 240 MW of wind power currently under construction immediately adjacent to the Prieska project. The preliminary scope is to investigate the feasibility of generating and supply- ing 35 MW of electricity for the Prieska project from a hybrid power system using integrated wind and solar technologies. The renewable energy generation site will be located within 20 km of the project, making the establishment of a dedicated feed via an overhead power transmission line possible. 

The investigations into renewable energy solutions at the Prieska project will complement the ongoing Bankable Feasibility Study, with the additional benefit of potentially improving the base case plan of obtaining national grid power directly from the Cuprum sub-station already estab- lished on site. “This agreement is in line with our strat- egy to make best use of our geographic advantage in the semi-arid Northern Cape Province of South Africa. This region has the highest irradiance levels in the coun-

March 2019  MODERN MINING  13

MINING News

RopeCon® system at Booysendal now operational deflected by a drum in the head or tail sta- tion and fixed to axles arranged at regular intervals to carry it. The axles are fitted with plastic running wheels which run on fixed anchored track ropes and guide the belt. The track ropes are elevated off the ground on tower structures.

The RopeCon® system which transports platinum ore from Booysendal South to the existing processing plant at Northam’s Booysendal mine has recently gone into operation. The terrain between the new mining areas and the existing processing plant is challenging in terms of topography. In a straight line, a distance of approximately 4,8 km and a difference in elevation of 530 m must be covered. RopeCon® is a technology developed by the ropeway manufacturer Doppelmayr. The system offers the advantages of a ropeway and combines them with the properties of a conventional belt conveyor. It essentially consists of a flat belt with corrugated side walls. Just as on conven- tional belt conveyors, the belt performs the haulage function. It is driven and

minimise the environmental footprint of the mine. Because RopeCon® is guided over towers, the only space required on the ground is for these structures. Construction of the RopeCon® com- menced in January 2018; 11 months later, and right on schedule, commission- ing began. Since 20 December2018, the installation has been transporting approxi- mately 20 000 tons of platinumore per day. As part of an additional expansion programme, Booysendal has awarded Doppelmayr a contract for a second RopeCon®, which will connect with the first system and enable transport from another mining area north of the concession. The second system is designed to transport 400 tons per hour over 2,8 km and a differ- ence in elevation of 160 m. It is due to start operating in early 2021. 

The material mined at Booysendal South is loaded onto the RopeCon® belt via a silo and two chutes. In the vicinity of the processing plant, the RopeCon® is linked to the existing conveying equipment. A switch chute allows for the material either to be transferred directly onto a feeder conveyor to take it to the processing plant, or to be discharged onto a stockpile via a second, smaller RopeCon® thus creating a temporary buffer. Booysendal was particularly careful to choose a transport system that would

The RopeCon® system at Booysendal transports ore over a distance of approximately 4,8 km.

14  MODERN MINING  March 2019

MINING News

Gonka to be incorporated into Yanfolila mine plan

Tanga signs agreement on Namibian properties Tanga Resources, listed on the ASX, has signed a binding agreement with Epangelo Mining (Pty) Ltd to earn an initial equity interest of 80 % in a portfolio of exploration licences located in Namibia. Epangelo is a private company with the Namibian government as its sole shareholder. It was established to ensure national participation in the discovery, exploitation and beneficiation of Namibia’s mineral resources whilst developing and consolidating a portfolio of high quality assets and services for the benefit of its stakeholders. The licences are located on the Damara Orogenic Belt in central northern Namibia, immediately south of Tanga’s Hagenhof copper- cobalt project and will significantly expand Tanga’s total regional land position to over 1 700 km 2 . Although a number of historic regional copper and gold occur- rences are reported on the licences, there has been very little modern exploration. Regional aeromagnetic data, however, shows a major north-south trending structure running through one of the licences, EPL 4833, and continuing up into Hagenhof.  Hummingbird Resources, listed on AIM, has announced its third set of drilling results from the recently completed exploration campaign at the Yanfolila gold mine in Mali, the main focus of which was to convert resources to reserves and, in time, extend the mine life. The completed drilling programme largely focused around the resource definition at the Gonka deposit, with some further follow up drilling at Komana West. Hummingbird says that the latest results demonstrate more high-grade potential and continued exploration potential at depth. Additionally, in December 2018, the company announced a set of high-grade results, of which the stand-out intercept was 15 m at 16,03 g/t. Hummingbird is now focused on integrating the positive results seen in its exploration programme into its mine plan. The Gonka deposit is situated just 5 km from the process plant, making it suitable to be included in the current mine plan. The deposit is fully permitted and within the mining licence, which will allow mining to start imme- diately once the resource modelling and mine planning is completed. Murray Paterson, Chief Geologist for Hummingbird, commented: “Following the conclusion of the drilling programme at Gonka, we have moved to the resource modelling phase as we look to publish a new and updated mineral resource for Gonka and the open pittable reserves. After this is completed, the company plans to release a new life of mine plan at Yanfolila. “Our exploration team is reviewing the Gonka drilling data and is planning ahead for the coming 2019 drilling programme, which will target the down dip extensions to Gonka to expand the resource and reserves. A thorough review of the database to identify new green- field targets is also underway and this is expected to yield high priority targets to drill test outside the current seven deposits that have resources associated with them.” 

March 2019  MODERN MINING  15

MINING News

De Beers Group has announced an initia- De Beers to consolidate its assets in SA and Canada newly created role of Head of Operations, and a management team based in Johannesburg, but with additional support services in Canada.

Africa are both hugely important to the future of De Beers Group and we want to continue to grow and invest in both coun- tries. I am looking forward to working with the teams and am very grateful to have the support of Allan Rodel, who has a wealth of experience in both the South African and Canadian mining industries.” Zikalala’s role will replace those cur- rently held by Phillip Barton, CEO of DBCM, and Kim Truter, CEO of De Beers Canada, who will both leave the organisation to focus on new opportunities. Barton has been with De Beers Group for more than 30 years and has played a key role in men- toring Zikalala and developing her as his successor. Truter joined De Beers Group in 2015 as CEO of De Beers Canada, bringing with him 30 years of mining experience. His achievements at the company include bringing the Gahcho Kué mine into opera- tion in 2016 and the acquisition of the Chidliak project in 2018. Zikalala holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Witwatersrand and is a graduate of the London Business School Emerging Leaders Programme. She is a non-executive Board Director of De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa and has also served as Executive Director for various organisa- tions, including the Black Management Forum and Mintek.  ing the Nayega project into the first stages of production is a credit to our team and a significant step as we look to progress towards long-term sustainable cashflows.” The bulk sampling metallurgical test- work programme commenced in August last year to prove up the internal feasibility study previously conducted on the project. The current programme is fully funded by a major producer of manganese-based alloys, which aims to confirm the suitability of the ore in its smelting facilities. A 20 t/h scrubber plant was commissioned in late December 2018, reaching steady state production of 230 saleable tonnes per day in early January. Installed mining and processing plant equipment at Nayega has the capacity to produce approximately 6 500 tonnes per month of +35 % Mn ore, with recent explo- ration testwork results having returned grades of +40 % Mn, suggesting further potential upside to the operation. 

tive to consolidate its mining assets in South Africa and Canada into one business called De Beers Group Managed Operations. The new business will

Zikalala is an accomplished leader with more than 18 years’ experience in the min- ing industry. She began her career as an Ore Processing Engineer at the Cullinan diamond mine in 2001, and has held numerous roles as General Manager for De Beers Kimberley Mines and Voorspoed mine, and as Senior Vice-President for De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa. In her role as Deputy CEO, DBCM, she has been responsible for the De Beers Group South Africa strategy and consolidating and sim- plifying its businesses in the country. Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “We are delighted to appoint Mpumi into this new and vitally important posi- tion to focus on growing a profitable and sustainable business in both South Africa and Canada. Our businesses in these countries face very different challenges and require a leader of Mpumi’s skill, vision and experience to maximise their full potential. I am personally very pleased to see her step into this role, which she does with my full support.” Speaking about her appointment, Zikalala said: “I am very excited to be tak- ing on the role of Managing Director, Managed Operations. Canada and South

streamline opera- tional management and identify syner- gies to create a more sustainable busi- ness in the two countries. De Beers Group

Mpumi Zikalala.

Managed Operations will bring theVenetia mine, the Gahcho Kué mine and De Beers Marine under one leadership team. The restructuring was necessitated by the company’s reduced mining footprint in South Africa and Canada due to the clo- sures of the Snap Lake and Voorspoed mines, along with the imminent closure of Victor mine during May 2019. Nompumelelo (Mpumi) Zikalala will be appointed to the new role of Managing Director for De Beers Group Managed Operations, based in Johannesburg. She will move from her current role as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, DBCM, to take responsibility for the restructure. She will be supported by Allan Rodel, in the

Keras Resources completes Nayega bulk sample AIM-listed Keras Resources reports that it has completed the 10 000-tonne bulk sample at its Nayega manganese project in northern Togo and that all the necessary authorisations to export the bulk sample for metallurgical testwork have been received. The manganese ore has been transported

to a secure location in close proximity to the deep-water port of Lomé awaiting ship- ment by the end-user. Russell Lamming, CEO of Keras, com- mented: “I am delighted to announce that we have completed the bulk sample and received all the required authorisa-

tions to begin shipping the 10 000-tonne bulk sample for metallurgical testwork at the third-party ferromanganese smelter facility. The shipping, which has been scheduled for mid-March, is the final part of the bulk sampling process which has proven up the robust economics of the Nayega project. “The substantial progress Keras has made at fast track-

View of the Nayega site during the bulk sampling (photo: Keras).

16  MODERN MINING  March 2019