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26 E&MJ; • JUNE 2014 www.e-mj.com REGIONAL NEWS - AFRICA African Barrick Plans Major Expansion at Bulyanhulu African Barrick Gold has announced plans to lift gold production at its Bulyanhulu mine in northwest Tanzania from under 200,000 oz in 2013 to a run rate of 350,000 oz/y by the end of 2015. Bulyanhulu is a high-grade underground mine with reserves of 9.1 million oz at a grade of 9.5 g/mt gold and further resources of 6.2 million oz at 11.6 g/mt gold. A core element of African Barrick's strategy for the mine is to bring production rates more into line with the scale of this resource base. Three key projects will contribute to the production increase: improving mining practices in the existing mine to enable it to operate at reserve grade; commissioning of an expansion of the carbon-in-leach plant, now in progress; and acceleration of development to mine Bulyanhulu's Upper East Zone. The Upper East Zone is expected to 1.7 million oz of gold, averaging 60,000 oz/y over a life of more than 25 years. The Upper East Zone is located on the eastern extension of the strike length of the mine, about 1.5 km east of the Bulyanhulu processing plant. The zone is currently included in Bulyanhulu reserves and was scheduled to be mined later in the mine's life. Accelerated development of the area will require about $15 million of addition- al capital in 2014, with initial production now expected in July 2014. The Upper East Zone was initially accessed in 2001 through a 1.8-km decline from the current mine's ramping system, and this decline will provide access for initial mining in the zone. Mining will be performed by longhole stoping. The mine design mini- mizes up-front capital expenditure and ensures positive cash flow at current gold prices in each full year of production. The zone's two reefs will be mined simultaneously, using the existing under- ground access during the first four years of production. A box cut will then be devel- oped to provide additional access. The planned box cut is expected to take two years to construct, beginning in 2017, and is expected to cost $16 million. A sec- ond decline will be driven from the box cut to access shallower reserves. In conjunction with Upper East Zone development, African Barrick will under- take a $20 million plant expansion to increase Bulyanhulu plant capacity from 1.1 million metric tons per year (mt/y) to 1.3 million mt/y. Platinum Strikes: Mediation but no Settlement Strikes by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) against South Africa's top three platinum mining companies—Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum, and Lonmin—were in their 17 th week in late May. A new round of talks between the companies and the union, mediated by South Africa's Labour Court, was initiated on May 21; but, at the end of the day on May 24, the companies issued a joint statement saying no agree- ment had been reached. CEOs Chris Griffith, Terence Goodlace and Ben Magara said, "Reaching an afford- able and sustainable agreement with AMCU would be in all of our interests, and that remains our preference. We remain committed to ongoing dialogue with AMCU and other stakeholders to find a way to end the strike. The companies welcome the intervention of the labour court." Acts of intimidation and violence, including killings of five non-striking mineworkers, escalated in mid-May, and a near-term settlement of the strike, while not out of the question, seemed unlikely. In an exclusive interview with Reuters , published May 22, Impala Platinum CEO Goodlace responded when asked how long the strike could last: "It's almost like how long is a piece of string. I suppose the prop- er answer to it is that it could go on for much longer because we are so far apart between the two parties ... My expectation is they will probably go on for longer." Roxgold Foresees High-grade, Underground Burkina Faso Mine Canadian junior Roxgold Inc. has announced the results of an NI 43-101 compliant feasibility study of the 55 Zone on its Yaramoko exploration permit in southwest Burkina Faso. The study envi- sions an underground mine, producing 99,500 oz/y of gold over an initial mine life of 7.4 years. Average all-in sustaining pro- duction costs are estimated at $590/oz. Pre-production capital is estimated at $106.5 million. Workers confer at African Barrick Gold's Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania. The company is planning to expand mine output by an additional 150,000 oz/y by the end of 2015. (Continued on p. 42) EMJ_pg04-45_EMJ_pg04-45 6/4/14 9:00 AM Page 26