Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS OCTOBER 2017 • E&MJ; 5 www.e-mj.com ture, installation of the underground ma- terials handling system, and construction of the tailings storage facility, access road, and power line. Development of the mine access decline had reached 2,594 m as of late August, and the conveyor decline had broken through to the box cut. "Our caving knowledge has been en- hanced with recruitment of a number of experienced cave miners into key opera- tional roles — including general manage- ment, technical service and mining — and the engagement of caving experts for a revised mining study and mine plan," said OZ Minerals CEO Andrew Cole. "There is strong community support for the project. A Native Title Mining Agree- ment, underpinned by the landmark part- nering agreement, is now in place with the Kokatha Aboriginal Corp., following a community meeting at the end of July." Major processing steps to produce Car- rapateena concentrate will include SAG and ball milling, pebble crushing, and rougher flotation, followed by three stag- es of cleaning. An internationally saleable concentrate will be produced and trucked about 160 km to Port Augusta on the Spencer Gulf for shipping to customers. OZ Minerals' previously announced plans to build a concentrate treatment plant at Port Augusta are now being man- aged as a separate project, independent of the Carrapateena timeline. "The concentrate treatment plant con- tinues to offer opportunities to be a strate- gic differentiator for OZ minerals, with the capacity to upgrade concentrates to 50% to 60% copper with negligible impurities, mak- ing them an attractive feedstock for custom- ers throughout the world," the OZ statement said. "While not needed for Carrapateena, the project potentially offers future upside for both Carrapateena and Prominent Hill in light of the global trend of decreasing con- centrate grades and increasing impurities in the copper concentrate market. Therefore, the scope has been expanded to include Prominent Hill concentrate. "Test work has confirmed the viability of the process, and the focus of current studies is on development and optimiza- tion of the various technical options." Sibanye Gold Changes Name to Sibanye-Stillwater Sibanye Gold announced on August 30 that it has changed its trading name to Sibanye-Stillwater. The name change re- flects Sibanye's acquisition of Stillwater Mining, a producer of platinum group metals (PGMs) with mining and process- ing operations in south-central Montana in the United States. Planning for the ac- quisition was announced on December 9, 2016, and the transaction closed on May 5, 2017, after which Sibanye began in- corporating Stillwater's operating results into its financial reporting. The timing of the Stillwater transaction has proven to be opportune for Sibanye, with palladium prices being among the top performing commodities prices in 2017. Should PGM prices remain at current spot levels, Sibanye-Stillwater's A century ago, a prospector discovered gold at Ontario's Kirkland Lake and a son was born to British immigrants in Saskatchewan. The boy — Norman Bell Keevil — went on to become a renowned scientist, teacher and prospector, discov- ering a small but high-grade copper mine in Ontario. Parlaying that into control of the Kirkland Lake gold mine 50 years lat- er, he formed the fledgling mining compa- ny Teck Corp. As part of its Footprints Series, Mc- Gill-Queens University Press published Never Rest on Your Ores: Building a Min- ing Company, One Stone at a Time, a lively and detailed look at how Teck was built from the ground up, authored by Teck Chairman Norman B. Keevil. Keevil's son Nor- man, also a geosci- entist, recounts how over the course of 50 years, a growing team of like-mind- ed engineers and entrepreneurs built Canada's largest di- versified mining com- pany. In candid de- tail he tells the sto- ry of a company and its makers of the discovery and creation of mines, of the mechanics of industry financing, and of the role that mergers and acquisitions play in a volatile environment. Along the way he meets fascinating captains of in- dustry and politicians not only in Canada, but in the United States and around the world. Finding an ore body and promot- ing its development to finance and cre- ate a mine, most often in hard-to-access wilderness, is complicated work. Under- lying this history is a constant need to replenish the ore, and this need drives the people involved. Covering 100 years of Canadian mining and business history, the book discusses the discovery and building of mines, the mechanics of financing in a cyclical industry. It provides a unique, behind the scenes look at the business leaders, politicians and colorful charac- ters who have played a key role in shaping Canada and the global mining industry. Told through the eyes of Keevil himself, the book provides a rare insiders account of the successes, set- backs and fascinating stories that trans- formed a small min- er into a leading Canadian company. A true Canadian suc- cess story, it recounts how a father and son with vision, persever- ance and a bit of luck helped build Cana- da's largest diversified resource company. The book is avail- able at major book- stores and can also be ordered directly from the McGill-Queens website. All proceeds have been dedicated to Mining Matters and MineralsEd., two initiatives designed to introduce grade school children to the wonders of metals and minerals. Keevil, a professional engineer and ge- ologist, was an officer of Teck during its im- pressive growth years from 1970 through 2005, the penultimate years of the story. He is an officer of the Order of Canada and a lifetime director of the Mining Associa- tion of Canada. Dr. Keevil was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in January 2004 and the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2012. Never Rest on Your Ores By Norman B. Keevil, Chairman of the Board, Teck