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
Issue link: https://emj.epubxp.com/i/887604
NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS 4 E&MJ; • OCTOBER 2017 www.e-mj.com Tanami Reaches Commercial Production Newmont Mining's Tanami expansion pro- ject, which included a second decline and incremental capacity at the processing plant, has achieved commercial produc- tion safely, on schedule and at budget, the company said. The expansion is expected to increase Tanami's annual gold produc- tion by 80,000 ounces per year (oz/y) to between 425,000 oz/y and 475,000 oz/y of gold, lower all-in sustaining costs to be- tween $700/oz and $750/oz, and extend the mine life by three years. "Tanami's team has more than dou- bled gold production while cutting costs by about two-thirds and significantly improving resource confidence since 2012. The ex- pansion project continues this trajectory, of- fering robust returns of 35% at a $1,200/oz gold price," said Gary Goldberg, president and CEO, Newmont Mining. "The team also delivered this project safely and on sched- ule despite a one-month delay caused by record rainfall in the first quarter." The second decline was completed in mid-2016, enabling a step change in mining rates, which ramp up to 2.6 mil- lion metric tons per year (mt/y), and open- ing new avenues for exploration drilling. Since that time, Tanami's team has im- proved mine ventilation to support further growth, and increased mine development rates through drilling efficiency gains. The processing plant expansion in- cluded adding a ball mill, thickener, and gravity circuit to improve recoveries and expand mill capacity from 2.3 million mt/y to 2.6 million mt/y. The mill reached commercial production by achieving sus- tained throughput, mill availability and grind size results in late August. Buenaventura Achieves Commercial Production at Tambomayo The processing plant at the Tambomayo project located in Arequipa, which was commissioned in December 2016, has successfully completed the ramp up pro- cess, according to Compañia de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A., Peru's largest public- ly traded precious metals mining company. Tambomayo has operated at 1,500 tons per day (full capacity) for more than two weeks. Buenaventura CEO Victor Gobitz con- firmed commercial operation on Septem- ber 1, and said, "This achievement is further demonstration of the skills and dedication of our team and the ability to deliver on our promises." As announced in April, Tambomayo's guidance for 2017 is 60,000 ounces (oz) to 90,000 oz of gold and 1.6 million oz to 1.9 million oz of silver. Annually, Tam- bomayo is expected to produce 120,000 oz to 150,000 oz of gold and 3 million oz to 4 million oz of silver. OZ Minerals Starts Building Major Mine at Carrapateena OZ Minerals has started construction at its underground, sub-level cave Carrapa- teena copper-gold mine in South Aus- tralia. Preproduction development costs are expected to be about A$916 million. Production of metal in concentrates over a mine life of 20 years is planned to aver- age 65,000 metric tons per year (mt/y) of copper and 67,000 ounces per year (oz/y) of gold. Commissioning is planned for the fourth quarter of 2019. Carrapateena's planned life-of-mine production rate is 4.25 million mt/y of run-of-mine ore. The ore reserve estimate currently stands at 79 million mt at a copper equivalent grade of 2.31%. OZ can fund Carrapateena develop- ment from cash on hand and expected cash flow from its Prominent Hill mine, located about 250 kilometers (km) to the north, without the need for debt, while maintaining its dividend policy. Construction of enabling infrastruc- ture for Carrapateena began in Septem- ber, including the accommodation village and airstrip and continuing development of the plant. The "Mining Lease" approval process was ongoing, with state and fed- eral government departments working to an agreed schedule that was expected to see the lease granted in January 2018. The second phase of construction, sub- ject to Mining Lease approval, is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2018 and will include construction of the processing plant and other above-ground infrastruc- The Tanami Expansion Project included a processing plant upgrade that improved capacity from 2.3 million mt/y to 2.6 million mt/y.