Engineering & Mining Journal

JUN 2012

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NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS Democratic Republic of Congo. The proj- ects will be funded internally and are expected to contribute additional annual production of more than 500,000 oz of gold to AngloGold Ashanti. At CC&V;, expansion at a capital cost of approximately $557 million over the next five years is expected to help boost the mine's production to more than 400,000 oz/y from the 267,000 oz produced in 2011. In tandem with a further mine-life- extension project targeted for the end of the decade, AngloGold Ashanti expects the mine to produce at the 400,000-oz/y-level until at least 2025, after which production is antic- ipated to remain around at least 350,000 oz/y for approximately another 10 years. CC&V; is a surface mining operation that delivers ore to one of the world's largest Canadian Malartic Mill Returns to Full Production Osisko Mining Corp. reported that the Canadian Malartic mill returned to full operational status May 19, 2012. This follows the earlier reported May 9 fire and completion of temporary repairs to the damaged No. 4 cyclone set. The mill resumed partial operation May 16, with the grinding circuit using three of the four cyclone sets and two of the three ball mills, as well as the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) unit. Completion of temporary repairs to the fourth cyclone circuit and the completion of scheduled maintenance on the primary and sec- ondary crushers allowed for the resumption of full production. "We are very proud of the speedy effort our team has made in getting the mill up and returned to operation after the fire," said Sean Roosen, president and CEO, Osisko. "We greatly appreciate the outstanding efforts of our employees, contractors and suppli- ers. We'd particularly like to thank Guay Inc. for getting their large capacity crane to site so quickly which allowed us to remove the damaged equipment and commence repairs; Rematech Inc. for supplying site assistance and shop availability for the rubber pipe repair and cyclopack refurbishing; and FLSmidth Krebs for the very fast cyclone refurbishing in their shop. All of these suppliers gave us 24 hours per day assistance and relly made a great dif- ference in the speed of our recovery from the fire. The location of the Canadian Malartic mine has allowed us to respond quickly to the challenges and really gave us rapid access to the necessary expertise and support infrastructure." Production rates are still at ramp-up levels but have now returned to the pre-fire range. Modifications to the XL2000 cone crusher bowl and liners have been effected under recommenda- tions and supervision from the supplier (FLSmidth). Their repre- sentatives are currently on site monitoring and adjusting the crusher circuit while trials of the modifications are conducted. Current throughputs during this work are expected to range between 35,000- 40,000 metric tons per day (mt/d). Pending successful completion of this work, Osisko expects to see the circuit stabilize in the 40,000-45,000 mt/d range as the com- pany awaits the arrival and installation of the second XL2000 cone crusher. www.e-mj.com crusher and valley-leach facilities. Production began in 1994. The property also has significant underground potential, which will be accessed for exploration as part of the current development project. Kibali is a joint venture development project in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (E&MJ;,May 2012, p. 18). The plus-10-million-oz gold de- posit is owned by Randgold Resources (45%), AngloGold Ashanti (45%), and the Congolese parastatal, Sokimo (10%). Randgold is the project manager and oper- ator. The mine is expected to pour its first gold at the end of 2012 and to produce at a rate of about 600,000 oz/y for the first decade of its life. Mongbwalu is also a joint venture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. AngloGold Ashanti holds an 86.22% stake, and Sokimo owns the balance. AngloGold Ashanti has made an initial investment of $345 million in the pro- ject, which will deliver average produc- tion of about 130,000 oz in each of its first three years of operation. AngloGold Ashanti plans to build the underground project quickly and then expand the operation rapidly from internally driven cash flow, allowing economies of scale to be realized. The early works program at the Mongbwalu site progressed to schedule during the first quarter of 2012, with 20% of road construction completed and long- lead mill and mobile equipment items ordered. First gold production is scheduled for the beginning of 2014. A "group effort" has helped restore production after a fire at the Canadian Malartic mill in early May. The second XL2000 (No. 2 of two cone crushers comprising the secondary crusher) is currently expected to be installed and operational by July. This should allow the circuit to subsequently increase throughput to 50,000-55,000 mt/d. Further optimization to the circuit, including the installation in August of the previous- ly announced second pebble crusher, is expected to lead to increased daily throughput by September. "We are continuing to ramp up production, make modifications to improve throughput and stabilize the circuit," said Luc Lessard, senior vice president and COO, Osisko. "During the unplanned stoppage, we accelerated the regular maintenance of key operat- ing units, which should improve our near term performance as we gain better plant availability." Equipment and building damage from the fire is estimated between $6 and $8 million. The company is working with its insur- ance underwriters and adjusters and expects the costs of the phys- ical damages to be fully covered subject to a $250,000 deductible. Permanent repairs of the damage will continue over the next three to four months, with the eventual replacement of the No. 4 cyclone set with a new cyclone cluster currently being manufactured by the supplier. Repairs to the damaged overhead crane and the mill roof will also be completed during this period. Minimal impact on pro- duction during these final repairs is anticipated. JUNE 2012 • E&MJ; 5

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