Modern Mining May 2019

MINING News

Kubi gold project could use new mining method enlarging the pilot holes to predetermined sizes to recover the ore.

requirements has been initiated in order to fully reflect the Group’s current emphasis on its profitable recovery operations. Klingenberg joined Goldplat in March 2015 and in June 2017 was appointed as the Group’s Chief Financial Officer. During this period, he has been involved in all aspects of the Group’s management.  According to Anaconda, the SMD tech- nology is a ‘disruptor’ in that it reduces the cost to extract ore by 50 % over con- ventional UG narrow mining techniques; places the operator in a safe location on the surface; can access areas not open to conventional mining; reduces the environ- mental footprint; and bypasses the crushing and grinding circuits by moving the ±2 mm drill cuttings in a slurry direct to the mill.  hole-openers can be used to drill along the pilot hole’s trajectory up to 2 m.

Asante Gold Corporation says that that a newmining technique, Sustainable Mining by Drilling (SMD), is currently under review by the company for future application at its Kubi gold project in Ghana. SMD is a two-stage drilling method that enables direct mining of narrow deposits. The technology is being devel- oped and commercialised by Anaconda Mining Inc, in collaboration with Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, and utilises technology proven in other indus- tries. Anaconda’s SMD technology was recently placed second in the Goldcorp Inc #DisruptMining challenge held at the PDAC in Toronto in March this year. SMD is a complete surface min- ing option with involves a drilling rig being used as the main surface piece of equipment in conjunction with several field-proven down hole technologies. The mining process is divided into two campaigns: drilling the pilot holes and accurately mapping the vein and then

Using an inclined mast drilling rig, an inclined pilot hole is drilled along the cen- tre line of the vein (equidistant between the hangingwall and foot wall) with a direc- tional drilling system. Steering the pilot holes live with a survey tool determines the current orientation and allows refinement of the 3D model of the vein used to plan the pilot hole enlargement. Once the pilot hole has been drilled, progressively larger

Change at the top at gold producer Goldplat, the AIM-listed gold producer with gold recovery operations in South Africa and Ghana as well as a gold mine in Kenya, has announced that Gerard Kisbey-Green has stepped down as CEO and that Werner Klingenberg has been appointed as the interim CEO with immediate effect. A full review of the Group’s senior management