Modern Mining November 2018

MINING News

Ivanhoe makes “significant progress” at Kipushi

Reporting on the progress of its Kipushi copper-zinc-germanium-lead project in the DRC in its third quarter results (the three months to 30 September), TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines says that significant prog- ress has been made in modernising the Kipushi mine’s underground infrastructure as part of preparations for the mine to resume commercial production. In Q3 2018, the Kipushi project suc- cessfully completed initial, pre-production testing as part of the equipment commis- sioning process for the new, large-capacity rock crusher that has been installed 1 150m below surface. The Sandvik jaw crusher has a maximum capacity of 1 085 t/h. The 54-t machine was re-assembled and installed in the crusher chamber after it was disas- sembled on surface and its pieces were lowered down Shaft 5, which is the Kipushi mine’s main production shaft. Ivanhoe has completed the upgrading of a significant amount of underground infrastructure at the project, including a series of vertical mine shafts to various depths, with associated head frames, as well as underground mine excavations. A series of crosscuts and ventilation infra- structure still are in working condition. The underground infrastructure also includes a series of pumps to manage the influx of water into the mine. Shaft 5 is 8 m in diameter and 1 240 m deep. It has now been upgraded and re- commissioned. The main personnel and material winder has been upgraded and modernised to meet international industry standards and safety criteria. The Shaft 5 rock-hoisting winder is now fully opera-

Bukasa Lengesha, a boilermaker at Kipushi, inspecting the recently installed ore-loading flask at the bottom of Shaft 5 (photo: Ivanhoe).

The Kipushi project’s PFS, announced by Ivanhoe Mines in December 2017, antic- ipates annual production of an average of 381 000 tonnes of zinc concentrate over an 11-year, initial mine life at a total cash cost of approximately US$0,48 per pound of zinc. The planned primary mining method for the Big Zinc deposit in the PFS is sublevel, long-hole, open stoping, with cemented backfill. The crown pillars are expected to be mined once adjacent stopes are backfilled using a pillar-retreat mining method. The deposit is expected to be accessed via the existing decline and without any significant new development. The historic Kipushi mine is adjacent to the town of Kipushi and approximately 30 km south-west of Lubumbashi.  tion team continues to build out targets to the north and south of the Loulo-Gounkoto structures along a 70 km strike in one of the world’s most prolific gold regions. Elsewhere in Mali, Randgold has entered into discussions on a potential joint venture with the government to explore a regional area of interest to develop a detailed geo- logical dataset. In terms of the proposal, Randgold will have first choice of identi- fied prospects and the rest will be made available to the government to attract other investors. The process will offer some private holders of rights in the area the opportunity to become potential equity partners in new ventures. 

tional, with new head- and tail-ropes also installed. Two newly manufactured rock conveyances (skips) and the supporting frames (bridles) have been installed in the shaft to facilitate the hoisting of rock from the main ore and waste storage silos feed- ing rock on the 1 200-m level. The main haulage way on the 1 150-m level between the Big Zinc access decline and Shaft 5 rock load-out facilities has been resurfaced with concrete so the mine now can use modern, trackless, mobile machinery. With the underground upgrading programme nearing completion, the proj- ect’s focus will shift to modernising and upgrading Kipushi’s surface infrastructure to handle and process Kipushi’s high-grade zinc and copper resources. Also at the briefing, Chiaka Berthe, GM Operations forWest Africa, said brownfields exploration on the orebody extensions was confirming the potential for the complex to keep replacing depleted reserves with ounces of the same quality. “Loulo-Gounkoto is one of the largest operations of its kind in the world and has been a pillar of the Malian economy since Loulo went into production in 2005. The lat- est exploration results show that its life is likely to extend beyond the current 10-year horizon,” he said. Further afield, the greenfields explora-

Loulo-Gounkoto complex steps up production Randgold Resources’ Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex in Mali is stepping up pro- duction following the start of the pushback at Gounkoto’s new super pit with increased grades expected in the third and fourth quarter of the year.

Briefing local media in Bamako recently, Chief Executive Mark Bristow said that, as guided, the complex’s production profilewas weighted towards the back half of the year because of the big pushback’s impact in the first two quarters. It was now getting back to its normal run rate and there has been an increase in production in the third quarter.

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