Modern Mining May 2018

MINING News

Loulo-Gounkoto still investing in new projects

In addition, Sovereign opted to conduct its studies to conform to the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Performance Standards as well as Equator Principles, in the event of applying for funding. These standards serve to mitigate investment risks for financial institutions. “Conducting studies to these stan- dards is usually an indication that the environmental and social assessment con- sidered everything it should have, and that appropriate mitigation and management measures have been developed to mini- mise the project’s impact on the people and their environment,” Lotter elaborates. The ESIA process, which AECOM’s scope of work forms a part of, will run for about a year, as from November 2017. “The aim is to submit the ESIA report to the Malawian Environmental Affairs Department by late this year, in sup- port of an application for environmental authorisation,” Lotter says.  In the meantime, Randgold also continues to invest substantially in the sustainable development of its host com- munities. Some 5 000 students are enrolled at 17 schools built by the company, and last year 52 of them were awarded bur- saries for further study. Randgold is also advancing the development of commer- cially viable agribusiness enterprises to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the complex’s eventual closure. The project already includes five incubation farms and an agricultural college with 70 students.  the year to deliver our production guid- ance of 690 000 ounces for 2018,” said Tahirou Ballo, the GM of the complex. Ballo noted that production from the under- ground mines continued to show a steady improvement since Loulo took over the mining from contractors in 2016. Chiaka Berthe, the West African GM of Operations, said the Loulo-Gounkoto complex represented the largest foreign investment to date in the Malian economy. After all these years it was still investing in new mining projects like the Gounkoto pushback and the new Baboto satellite pit, he said. The country is rich in other gold opportunities, and Randgold contin- ues to search for extensions to the known orebodies as well as new discoveries in its extensive Malian landholdings.

Randgold’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex in Mali, already one of the largest of its kind in the world, is still expanding, with the Gounkoto super pit and the new Baboto satellite pit joining its Yalea and Gara underground mines. Speaking at a recent site visit for local Malian media, Chief Executive Mark Bristow said the complex’s all-Malian management team, which steered it to a record performance in 2017, had made a

good start to this year, although produc- tion was expected to be lower than the previous quarter on the back of forecast lower grades, reflecting the sequencing of mining lower grade blocks at both Loulo and Gounkoto. Although slightly delayed, mining of the Baboto satellite pit was now well on track to support the complex with softer oxide ore feed. “We expect grades to pick up and pro- duction to increase through the rest of

A 300-tonne Liebherr R9350 loads a Cat 777F dump truck at Gounkoto (photo: Randgold).

AECOM contributes to graphite project in Malawi Integrated infrastructure delivery company AECOM produced the winning bid for social services for Sovereign Metals’ Malingunde graphite project in the Lilongwe District of Malawi.

local consultant, the sole provider of social services for the project,” AECOM Senior Specialist Karien Lotter comments. Not only was the scope of work in line with the com- pany’s core business, it also has a dedicated team of professionals in this regard. “We are well-situated in South Africa to serve our clients’ needs in Africa. Travel- expedient and affordable, we have an intuitive understanding of the African busi- ness and social milieu, making it easier for us to conduct business and relate to proj- ect-affected people.” AECOM’s scope of work encompasses stakeholder engagement, social impact assessment and the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). These components, comprising part of the ESIA process, are regulated by Malawian legislation, meaning there are specific legal requirements to be met in this regard.

AECOM received a request for pro- posal from Sovereign’s Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP), Dhamana Consulting of Perth, Australia. The EAP had approached three consulting firms, namely two in South Africa and one in Malawi, based on industry intelligence and recom- mendations from other professionals in the field. Dhamana Consulting is the Environ­ mental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) service provider, while AECOM is conducting two of the more than ten specialist studies, in addition to the stake- holder engagement for the ESIA process. “This makes us, with support from our

16  MODERN MINING  May 2018