Modern Mining October 2015

DIAMONDS

Newmine plan enhances and derisks the Liqhobong project

interface designs outstanding and this work is progressing on schedule and within budget. Accordingly, says Firestone, it is confident that, with the continued co-operation of the Government of Lesotho in granting the required specialist skills work permits necessary for the short term contractors, it currently remains on target to achieve initial production during Q4 2016. Firestone also reports that the grid power project has been completed on budget and ahead of schedule and is undergoing the final commissioning phases, having been connected to the national grid. The mine will be an open-pit operation with mining taking place to a depth of 383 m over 15 years. The ore will be treated in a 3,6 Mt/a facility using only proven technologies. The flowsheet incorporates a combination of jaw and cone crushers; scrubbing and conventional screening; coarse and fines dense medium separation; and final concentration by X-ray fluorescence technology. The design allows for the recovery of stones of up to 400 carats. Firestone, which is headed by ex-De Beers executive Stuart Brown, notes that it has been working hard over the past year to finalise a number of specific work streams to further de- risk and enhance the project. The project’s new economics are based on detailed additional

Firestone Diamonds, the AIM-quoted company which is developing the R2,1 billion Liqhobong diamond mine in Lesotho, reports that project construction was 49 % complete, as at the end of September 2015, versus the 50 % target under the revised timetable, announced in June 2015, and on track for initial production in Q4 2016. It has also announced that a newmine plan has been completed which further derisks the project and reconfirms the strong base case project economics.

A ccording to Firestone, the critical path earthworks are complete and civil, structural, mechani- cal and electrical construction works have all begun. The ma- jor critical path items that include the Residue Storage Facility (RSF), civils, accommodation and office complex, bulk power, and the steel, mechanical, piping and platework erection and fabrication are all on, or close to, schedule and within budget. The first steelwork has been as- sembled and the scheduled delivery of steel to site has begun. The construction teams are also reportedly working hard to get ahead of sched- ule while there is a favourable weather window. Overall engineering design is 90 % complete, with only the final control and instrumentation

The raw water dam at Liqhobong – 100 000 m 3 of storage capacity complete.

28  MODERN MINING  October 2015