WORLD PROSPECTS
Odyssey UG to feature LTE , autonomy and electrification
Canadian Malartic Mine ( CMM ) has announced
that both of its 50:50 owning partners , Yamana
Gold Inc and Agnico Eagle , have approved construction to transform the Odyssey Project in Quebec , Canada , into the Odyssey Mine over the coming years .
The state-of-the-art future Odyssey gold mine will feature an LTE mobile communication network , an automated fleet of 60 t trucks operated from the surface and on-demand ventilation . All the major production fleet will also be battery electric .
On the electric aspect , Yamana Gold stated : “ The Odyssey project is expected to be one of the most modernised electric underground mines . All major mobile production equipment ( such as trucks , scoop trams , jumbos , bolters , and longhole drill rigs will be electric powered ), greatly reducing carbon footprint . On the two main levels with loading pockets , trucks and hammers would be remotely operated 24 hours a day , 7 days a week from a surface control room , greatly increasing equipment utilisation .”
The preliminary mining concept is based on a sublevel open stoping mining method with paste backfill . Longitudinal retreat and transverse primarysecondary mining methods will also be used dependent on mineralisation geometry and stope design criteria .
Developing the continuity of the deposit in the Canadian Malartic and Barnat pits through four main mineralised zones at depth ( East Gouldie , East Malartic , Odyssey North and Odyssey South ) will require an investment of approximately C $ 1.7 billion ($ 1.34 billion ) over seven years . Work on the surface infrastructure needed to mine these zones , including an exploration ramp , began in December 2020 . The infrastructure is around 3 km east of the entrance to the Town of Malartic .
A new application to amend the decree to add the East Gouldie and East Malartic zones , among others , is to be filed with the Québec Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change .
“ While the process by which the government authorises us to mine all of our mineralised zones is well underway , the announcement of our partners ’ investment is a major step forward ,” Serge Blais , CMM General Manager , said . “ One of Canada ’ s largest underground gold mining projects will come to fruition right here in Malartic . The future mine ’ s life is expected to extend until 2039 and operations could continue well beyond that , given the deposit ’ s significant potential .”
The future Odyssey Mine will be accessed by a ramp and a shaft estimated to be 1,800 m deep . Plans are to extract 19,000 t of ore at an estimated grade of about 2.75 g / t Au and roughly 5,000 t / d of waste rock during peak operations . The ore will be processed at CMM ’ s existing plant ( hauled to the existing primary crusher using 240 t mining trucks then transporting crushed ore to the CMM plant via conveyor ), which will eventually be adapted to the future mine ’ s needs including shifting from 57,000 t / d to 20,000 t / d . The ore will be hauled to surface using Blair production hoists with use of both shaft bottom and mid-shaft ore handling systems .
Yamana Gold stated : “ The construction decision is a milestone in the ongoing evolution of the Canadian Malartic operation and is the culmination of several years of exploration , mineral resource development and technical evaluation . It marks the transition point of the Odyssey underground project from the project definition phase to the construction and ramp-up phase , which will extend to 2028 . From 2029 to 2039 , the underground operation will be in full production , producing an expected 500,000-600,000 oz / y . This represents an increase over the company ’ s initial estimate for an annual production platform of approximately 450,000 oz . Further extension of the mine life beyond 2039 provides additional upside , with several opportunities under evaluation .”
Production via the ramp is expected to begin at Odyssey South in late 2023 , increasing to up to 3,500 t / d in 2024 . Collaring of the shaft and installation of the headframe is expected to commence in the June quarter of 2021 , with shaft sinking activities expected to begin in late 2022 . The shaft will have an estimated depth of 1,800 m and the first loading station should be commissioned in 2027 with modest production from East Gouldie . The East Malartic shallow area and Odyssey North zones are scheduled to enter production in 2029 and 2030 , respectively . https :// canadianmalartic . com ; www . yamana . com ; www . agnicoeagle . com
TAKRAF Lebedinsky IPCC system moves to construction
During the recent In-Pit Crushing and Conveying
( IPCC ) Virtual event on February 5 , TAKRAF ’ s
Chief Mine Planning Engineer , Rico Neumann , gave the most detailed review yet on the company ’ s progress with its 55 Mt / y IPCC system project at the Lebedinsky ( Lebedinskij ) GOK iron ore operations of Metalloinvest , one of Russia ’ s and the world ’ s leading producers of iron ore products .
In 2017 , TAKRAF received the EPCM contract for the IPCC system at the mine , which is located near Gubkin in the Belgorod region , around 500 km south of Moscow . It has been operating since the 1970s and boasts iron ore reserves of close to 4,000 Mt .
The new IPCC system is under construction and will replace the existing railroad ore transport system out of the pit . It consists of : n Two semi-mobile designed primary crushing plants with apron feeders ; n Two crusher discharge conveyors ; n Two acceleration conveyors ; n Two pit ramps – overland conveyors bridging
280 m of topographical height ; n Four plant conveyors ; n One stockyard feed and reclaim conveyor ; n One bucket-wheel stacker reclaimer ; and n One mobile loading hopper with apron feeder at stockyard . The IPCC system , including a 2 x 130,000 t stockyard , has to feed the processing plant with 55 Mt / y of iron ore . As a result , each of the primary
crushing plants , as well as all the conveyors , were designed with a capacity of 5,500 t / h , except the stockyard feed and reclaim conveyor , which were designed with a capacity of 8,000 t / h . A special feature of the system is its high level of redundancy , which is realised through the twin arrangement of crushers and conveyors , continuously adjustable distribution chutes at almost all transfer towers , and two reversible conveyors to feed and reclaim the back-up stockyard .
The entire system was designed for the harsh winter conditions , as well as including various intelligent features to facilitate maintenance across all areas . The system also includes various elements catering to automated operation and control , including a self-propelled TAKRAF maintenance cart on the 14.5 ° inclined pit ramp conveyor for an efficient conveyor maintenance solution .
IPCC systems build operational resilience as well as reducing operating costs , increasing safety and providing environmental benefits . With this project , TAKRAF says it has entrenched itself as a leading global partner for customer specific , sophisticated and reliable mining and materials handling solutions . www . takraf . com ; www . metalloinvest . com
6 International Mining | MARCH 2021