Global projects and exploration
“ While drilling initially focused on the East Zone , drilling is now being conducted concurrently in both the East and West zones , and results continue to be regularly received ,” says Rovira .
Australia Trek joins the hunt for lithium
Six of the seven tenements that Trek Metals applied for in the Northern Territory of Australia have been granted . According to Bradley Drabsch , MD at Trek , the licence areas , together known as the Arunta Li-Co Project , are highly prospective for lithium and cobalt .
Drabsch says that an ongoing process of historical data compilation is underway , with the first on-ground fieldwork anticipated during quarter two of 2018 .
Trek undertook a reconnaissance field trip late last year that confirmed the presence of widespread granites mapped as Wangala Suite , which is considered highly prospective sources for lithium mineralisation in the Northern Territory . Outcropping copper mineralisation was also present at one location visited during the excursion .
“ The grant of these tenements happened sooner than expected and now presents Trek with an excellent opportunity to push ahead with Australian-based exploration in concert with our African work . Both these projects are at the frontier of exploration , with Trek set to take advantage of continued strength in metal prices across the board ,” says Drabsch .
Chile Spillage contained at copper mine
Canadian diversified mining company Teck Resources recently contracted South Africa-based Weba Chute Systems to install a new transfer point on an underperforming chute at its Carmen de Andacollo copper mine in the Coquimbo region of Central Chile . The mine is located 350km north of the capital Santiago , near the southern limit of the Atacama Desert , at an elevation of about 1 000m above sea level . Teck owns 90 % of the mine and the other 10 % is held by
Weba Chute Systems
The design of Weba Chute Systems has been configured to force a concentrated stream from the screen decks onto the conveyor .
government-owned Empresa Nacional de Minería .
Carmen de Andacollo is an opencast mine , producing copper in concentrates from the hypogene portion of the ore body .
According to Alwin Nienaber , technical director at Weba Chute Systems , the new system transfers material from a double-deck screen that feeds oversize material from both decks to a conveyor . Material throughput is 2 000 tonnes per hour ( tph ), with a lump size of minus 85mm .
Nienaber says in the previous installation , the way that material was being presented onto the conveyor was causing impact damage and excessive spillage . “ The spillage had to be controlled using extremely hard skirtings under such tension that this had been causing extreme damage to the conveyor , resulting in frequent belt replacement ,” says Nienaber .
Brazil Avanco goes shopping
ASX-listed Avanco Resources announced that the company has bought the Pantera Copper Project in Brazil from local company Vale . Pantera is close to Avanco ’ s existing operations in the Carajás Mineral Province and has the potential to significantly add resources , reserves , and a longer-term production profile for Avanco .
The Pantera1 license extends to 9 700 hectares ( about 100km ²), 110km west of Avanco ’ s Pedra Branca Project . The project site is close to good public infrastructure and only 20km from Vale ’ s operating Onça Puma Nickel Mine .
Pantera is of typical Carajás IOCG style , comprising predominately chalcopyrite mineralisation in tabular ore zones hosted within a steeply dipping shear zone .
According to Tony Polglase , MD at Avanco , an initial 5 000m drilling programme is currently being assessed and will begin during the first quarter of 2018 , with a maiden JORC Mineral Resource to be defined .
“ Substantial potential exists within the underexplored eastern side of Pantera , where massive sulphides ( not seen in drilling to the west ) are being mined from a small artisanal shaft . Any additional resources discovered in this area will not increase the acquisition price ,” says Polglase .
MARCH 2018 MINING MIRROR [ 11 ]