African buzz
Production on the up at Loulo-Gounkoto
Bisie gets ready to rumble
Barrick Gold’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali posted
a fourth-consecutive quarterly improvement in gold
production. This improvement was achieved despite an
illegal work stoppage that caused the mine to miss its
full-year production guidance of 690 000 ounces by 4%.
In addition to this, 2018 was a record throughput year of
more than five million tonnes (Mt) at close to the complex’s
reserve grade.
According to Mark Bristow, president and CEO of Barrick,
the complex, which ranks among the recently merged
Barrick and Randgold group’s tier one assets, was continuing
to invest in its future by exploring for additional reserves and
upgrading plant and equipment.
At the existing operations, a second crusher has been
commissioned at Yalea, the full integration of the automated
dispatch system has been installed at Gounkoto, and
the second radar for the geotechnical monitoring of the
Gounkoto pit is in place. The complex has also completed
the striker belts project at Gara and moved ahead with the
expansion of the tailings treatment facility.
Bristow says the continuing profitable growth of Loulo-
Gounkoto was a shining example of what could be achieved
through a genuine partnership between investors, managers,
and governments. He cited the tax holiday recently granted
for the development of the super pit at Gounkoto as a
typical instance of mutually beneficial cooperation. b
Construction of Nigeria’s first gold refinery under way
Construction of Nigeria’s first gold refinery has started. The
refinery, developed by local company Kian Smith Trade
& Co., is in the Ogun State of Nigeria and will provide
the Nigerian Central Bank, the jewellery sector, and the
electronic industry with gold. According to Nere Teriba,
chairperson at Kian Smith, the refinery is expected to start
production in 2019.
The plant will have a production capacity of three tonnes of
gold and one tonne of silver per month. “We have already
secured a major monthly offer of gold from Zamfara, Kebbi,
Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Ilesha, and about 100kg
per month from other parts of Africa. We are finalising offer
agreements and terms from suppliers in Kano. Soon, we’ll be
securing an offer from Kogi State,” says Teriba. b
www.africanmining.co.za
“A preliminary economic assessment of the Loulo 3 open pit
and underground project has been completed and drilling
continues to expand the area of high-grade mineralisation
south of the Yalea ore body. Exploration of the Faraba
structure on the Gounkoto permit has shown the potential for
multiple zones of mineralisation to be extended,” says Bristow.
Boris Kamstra, CEO of Alphamin Resources, on site in the DRC.
The long-awaited and much talked about Bisie tin project in the
eastern DRC is making good progress and remains on target to
start production later this year. TSX-listed Alphamin Resources
is developing the Bisie project in the Walikale territory of the
province of North Kivu. According to Alphamin’s CEO, Boris
Kamstra, the processing plant front-end crushing circuit was
successfully commissioned on 8 January 2019, on schedule.
“This includes the primary crusher, two tertiary crushers, and
the screening buildings. Ore is now being fed through this
circuit to create a stockpile with which the gravity circuit can
be commissioned,” says Kamstra. The entire processing plant is
expected to be commissioned by the end of March 2019.
The underground mine capital footprint was completed at the
end of December 2018, two months ahead of schedule. The run-
of-mine ore production rate is being ramped up to about 1 000
tons per day to achieve the targeted steady-state feed rate to the
processing plant.
It is envisaged that the processing plant should ramp up to its
nameplate production capacity of tin concentrates from April 2019
to the end of June 2019. Alphamin’s subsidiary ABM (Alphamin
Bisie Mining SA) has drawn on the total available debt package of
USD80-million and this, together with the previous capital
raisings, is expected to fund the project to production, bar any
unforeseen events. b
MARCH - APRIL 2019 AFRICAN MINING
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