THE LEADER VOLUME 16 • NUMBER 8
Contractor to owner-operator
Editorial Director Paul Moore BSc ( Hons ), MSc Email : paul @ im-mining . com
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In late April , on behalf of JCHX Mining Management , Jianzhong Zhang signed a handover document with ERG for transfer of ownership of the Lonshi copper mine in DRC , located only 3 km from the Zambia border , which Zhang told IM “ blew the horn of JCHX marching into its own mining development ”. Zhang is the Managing Director of JCHX ’ s DRC subsidiary Jimond Mining Management Company ( JMMC ) and is tasked with getting the mine up and running as soon as possible to take advantage of copper price highs .
He is already highly experienced having overseen JMMC ’ s first ramp development ; then underground mining contractor role at Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining ’ s huge Kamoa-Kakula project which recently celebrated start-up of its Phase 1 , 3.8 Mt / y concentrator plant . Over the border JCHX is also the main mining contractor at NFC Africa Mining ’ s Chambishi operation .
But the significance of Lonshi runs deeper . As a traditional mining services provider , over the past two decades , JCHX has helped build hundreds of mines both at home in China and abroad with expertise in shaft sinking , raise boring , lateral and ramp development using the latest mechanised methods and equipment . Most recently on July 3 , the contract for capital development and construction works at Shalkiya lead & zinc mine in Kazakhstan was signed between a consortium of JCHX Mining Management and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation . The project is located in the Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan with a designed capacity of 4 Mt / y . The contract mainly covers Phase 1 capital development & construction works and shaft restoration works , with a duration of 50 months and a total contract value around $ 107 million . JCHX also recently completed the main shaft & # 1 ventilation shaft at Metorex ' s Musonoi copper-cobalt project in DRC . And it has the mine design contract for two South African projects – AMG Group ' s Mukulu manganese project which is located in the worldfamous Kalahari manganese ore belt in the Northern Cape Province and China African Precious Metals ’ ( CAPM ) Orkney gold mine in the Witwatersrand Basin .
In Europe it is the mine developer and contractor for the Upper Zone at the Zijin Miningowned Cukaru Peki copper and gold mine in Serbia . That mine recently obtained the trial production permit for the processing facilities issued by the Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy and has entered the trial production stage . The project is designed to process 3.3 Mt of ore per annum . It is expected that 91,000 t of copper and 2.5 t of gold will be produced per annum after production commences .
Zhang told IM : “ We have gained lots of experience through our performance which is reflected in praise from the clients . We have only been in the DRC for five years , where we have become a leading mining contractor and developer in our traditional mining services field , but now we are fulfilling our ambition to become a leading mining owner and operator and have been acquiring copper mines . Before Lonshi , in 2019 , JCHX successfully purchased the Dikulushi copper mine and although its scale is quite small , it provided a chance for us to test our abilities as we looked to broaden our business scope .”
But Lonshi is the first big milestone and is highly significant for JCHX group and its owner Chairman Xiancheng Wang , who comes from a family with six generations of mining experience . Zhang adds : “ This is a major transformation because JCHX has always worked as a contractor and never a client . Lonshi copper mine , an openpit that has been partially developed by several owners , has a deposit of 0.85 Mt of copper and its hundreds of hectares of concession area offers great potential finding of more metal in the near future . This successful procurement will strengthen JCHX ’ s ambition to become a major mining company rather than only a mining service provider .”
To date a feasibility study has been completed and a team structured to carry out a target that the copper concentrator will be operational within two years . JCHX hopes to create a new model for mine development in DRC by optimising its existing resources such as engineering , construction , and mining capabilities in order to achieve “ more output with less input ”.
It is also worth remembering that aside from its journey from contractor / developer to mine owner-operator , JCHX has also been trying its hand at nextgen equipment development – this has included all lithium battery electric 2 m 3 and 3 m 3 underground LHDs developed by its JCHX Hubei division . The former was trialled at the Lujiang pyrite mine near Hefei City in Anhui Province and the latter at at the Shouyun iron ore mine in the Miyun District of Beijing .
Paul Moore Editorial Director paul @ im-mining . com
AUGUST 2021 | International Mining 3