Engineering & Mining Journal

JAN 2013

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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REGIONAL NEWS - ASIA OceanaGold Produces First Concentrate at Didipio The open-pit and underground mines will run concurrently during the last seven years of operations. The open-pit mine is scheduled to deliver ore to the mill of sufficient grade to achieve production of 200,000 gold equivalent oz/y until the underground mine starts. Low-grade ore stockpiled during open-pit operations will be milled at the end of both open-pit and underground operations. enced a number of challenges since we submitted our mine project feasibility study. These have included restrictions on field activities resulting from security issues in the project area; the need to reconsider our preferred power supply options for the project; the on-going uncertainty created by a provincial ordinance [banning open-pit mining] that is in conflict with national law; and the denial of the Mine Environmental Compliance Certificate by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which is currently under appeal to the Office of the President. "Given strong local community support, if local government endorsement and final approvals from the national government are forthcoming, then subject to an investment decision by Sagittarius shareholders, construction could potentially commence in 2015, enabling commercial production in 2019." The Tampakan project is situated on the boundaries of four provinces: South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, and Davao del Sur. It is based on one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the Southeast Asia-Western Pacific region. Resources total 2.94 billion mt, containing 5 million mt of copper and 17.6 million oz of gold at a 0.2% copper cut-off grade. Sagittarius Mines Eyes 2019 for Tampakan Start Ma'aden/Alcoa Joint Venture Produces its First Hot Metal Sagittarius Mines, the operating company that is developing the Tampakan coppergold project on Mindanao island in the Philippines, has provided the national government's Mining Industry Coordinating Council with an updated project development plan that outlines the potential for commercial production to begin in 2019. The company had previously estimated that production might start in 2016. A joint venture between Xstrata Copper (62.5%) and Indophil Resources NL (37.5%) holds a controlling 40% equity interest in Sagittarius Mines. The 60% non-controlling equity shareholders are Tampakan Mining Corp. and Southcot Mining Corp., known as the Tampakan Group of Companies. Sagittarius President Peter Forrestal said, "The Tampakan project has experi- The Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma'aden) and Alcoa announced in mid-December 2012 that their joint-venture smelter project at Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia has produced its first hot metal 25 months after the pouring of the first concrete for the smelter. The milestone marked the successful commissioning of the first of 740 smelting furnaces or "pots" and is a key step toward commercial production at the smelter. In its initial phases, the Ma'aden/Alcoa joint venture is developing a fully integrated, $10.8-billion industrial complex that includes a bauxite mine with an initial capacity of 4 million mt/y; an alumina refinery with an initial capacity of 1.8 million mt/y; an aluminum smelter with an initial capacity of 740,000 mt/y; and a rolling mill, with an initial capacity of 380,000 mt/y year. Copper-gold ore is conveyed to the mill at OceanaGold's Didipio project in the Philippines. The facility produced first concentrate in December 2012. OceanaGold Corp. announced on December 18, 2012, production of the first copper-gold concentrate at its Didipio project on Luzon island in the Philippines. Commissioning was ongoing and continued to meet expectations. Processing plant construction activities were complete, and construction of the remaining infrastructure, such as plant and mine maintenance workshops, will be completed as part of the project's 2013 capital budget, in conjunction with the ramp up of the plant. Commissioning of the plant's gravity gold circuit was in progress. OceanaGold expects the Didipio project to produce 285,000 to 325,000 oz of gold and 15,000 to 18,000 mt of copper in concentrates in 2013, with cash costs of gold production estimated at $650 to $800/oz net of copper by product credits. The Didipio project is located about 270 km north-northeast of Manila. Reserves total 1.68 million oz of gold and 230,000 mt of copper. Measured and indicated resources total 2.14 million oz of gold and 290,000 mt of copper, and inferred resources total 430,000 oz of gold and 70,000 mt of copper. Mine life is estimated at 16 years at average life-of-mine production of 100,000 oz/y of gold and 14,000 mt/y of copper. The Didipio deposit will be mined by both open-pit and underground methods. 20 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2013 www.e-mj.com

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