Engineering & Mining Journal

APR 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 - AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA First Results from Cayzer-Prince Operation Ivanhoe Australia has successfully recommissioned at its Osborne copper-gold project, the others being the Osborne and Kulthor mines. Mining at Starra 276 will ramp to its full production rate of approximately 650,000 mt/y of ore in the second quarter of 2013. Ivanhoe Australia began producing copper and gold concentrate at its Osborne processing facilities in February 2012. The company acquired the Osborne mine and concentrator from Barrick Australia in September 2010. Commissioning of the concentrator began in late January 2012, and first concentrate was shipped to Townsville Port in March. The Osborne plant began processing development ore from Starra 276 in February 2013 at blends of between 20% and 50% with ore from the Osborne and Kulthor mines. Recoveries and concentrate grades are being maintained with the addition of Starra ore, and efforts are now focused on optimizing the mill's ongoing performance. Starra 276 ore is being trucked to Osborne via the new Mount Dore-Osborne haul road. The road is meeting expectations, with daily truck movements ramping up to a capacity of 2,400 mt/d. Bob Vassie, Ivanhoe Australia CEO, said, "This is another milestone for the company's Osborne copper-gold story. The Starra 276 mine contains another two to three years of ore that we will be able to exploit at current rates, with our expectation being that further ore will be identified, potentially increasing the mine's life." 26 E&MJ; • APRIL 2013 The 222, 244, 251, 257 and 276 deposits on the Starra Line were previously mined from four open pits and five underground mines. The mines exploited the high-grade gold portions of the mineralized system and produced approximately 6.8 million mt grading 2.1% copper and 4.6 g/mt gold. At the close of the mines in early 2003, significant resources remained at the Starra 276 mine, where Ivanhoe Australia recommenced development in 2012. Significant resources also remain within the Starra 222 deposit, which is being evaluated for potential mill feed to the Osborne mill. Initial mining has begun at the CayzerPrince orebody at Vatukoula Gold's underground mine on Fiji's Viti Levu Island where the company expects to annually produce up to 100,000 oz of gold per year. In the three months ending February 28, 2013, 89,341 mt of ore were mined at the site with 103,916 mt of ore processed for 8,861 oz of gold. Vatukoula CEO David Paxton said, "Our recent heavy investment in capital development opened up access to the high-grade Cayzer-Prince ore body. Currently we are carrying out limited mining from this ore body which has been reflected in an increase in grade coming from the Phillip shaft of 6.9 grams/mt compared to the previous six months which yielded 5.3 grams/mt gold." The company has received independent due diligence that confirms its long-term production targets are achievable and the mine development strategy is sound. Vatukoula is also negotiating with several companies regarding investment in a $30-$40 million expansion program at the site, which has been historically mined during the past 70 years, producing about 7 million oz of gold and 2 million oz of silver in that time. There is established infrastructure including an independent power station, assay labs and workshops, at the mine site. Rio Tinto Wins Against Third-Party Access to Rail Lines The Australian Competition Tribunal ruled in February that Rio Tinto is not required to open its Hamersley and Robe rail lines in Western Australia to third-party users. Rio Tinto Iron Ore acting Chief Executive Paul Shannon said, "This is great news. Rio Tinto runs a highly efficient railway that is fully integrated with our port and mine operations. This would be severely hindered if third parties were allowed to run trains on our rail network, not to mention the knock-on negative effect on the Western Australian and national economies from creating such inefficiencies." Fortescue Metals Group expressed disappointment at the decision but said it will not affect its current iron ore operations or expansion plans, which utilize the company's existing, fully-owned rail infrastructure. Production from Vatukoula Gold's restarted underground mine in Fiji is expected to help the company reach 100,00 oz/y output. www.e-mj.com

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