mining news
13
08.13
MDM Engineering Group has received a Letter of
Intent to complete the Detailed Feasibility Study
(DFS) and Front End Engineering and Design
(FEED) for Hummingbird Resources’ Dugbe 1 pro
ject in Liberia.
The Dugbe Shear Zone area consists of 2 000
km² in central eastern Liberia, lying some 40 km
north-east of the coastal town of Greenville. The
project area is underlain by Birimian geology, mak-
ing it highly prospective for gold, and is currently
Hummingbird’s most advanced project, with over
61 000 m of drilling completed and a 3,8 million
ounce gold resource defined.
In order to expedite the timeframe of mine con-
struction, the FEED will be conducted alongside
the DFS, allowing the company to proceed directly
to an engineering, procurement and construction
contract at the end of the DFS. Hummingbird an-
ticipates the conclusion of the DFS and FEED by the
end of Q3 2014.
Shanta Gold, which operates the newly de-
veloped New Luika Gold Mine near Mbeya
in south-western Tanzania, reports a gold
production of 14 448 ounces in the second
quarter of this year, an improvement of 22 %
from Q1 2013.
Mill throughput totalled 88 966 tonnes at an
average grade of 5,75 g/t with mill recoveries
of 85,2 %. Although the tonnes milled were
up 24 % on Q1, premature coupling failures
hindered production in April and May lead-
ing to seven operating days (approximately
1 000 oz of production) being lost. The issues
leading to the failures are being addressed
with no further lost days recorded in June.
The achieved grade reflects the increased
use of lower grade stockpile ore as part of
an on-going focus to maximise the project’s
returns. The life of mine blended grade is
targeted at 6,3 g/t. An opportunity exists to
improve recovery rates and management is
looking at optimising the feed size distribu-
tion and liner design/usage.
Phase two of the planned plant improve-
ments has been successfully completed with
the commissioning of the upgraded crushing
circuit carried out in early July. The circuit is
operating satisfactorily with overall progres-
sive improvement of throughput since the start
of the year meaning Shanta Gold is on track
to meet its H2 target of 1 200 tonnes per day.
While significant improvements have been
New Luika’s production on the way up
achieved in de-bottlenecking various areas of
the plant, the incinerating process remains a
constraint in lifting production substantially,
says Shanta. As a result of the uncertainty of
increasing the volume through the incinerator
without further upgrades, the company ex-
pects to achieve the lower end of its previous
guidance of 63 000 – 70 000 oz for the full year.
Capital projects for plant and site develop-
ment include a new crushing and screening
plant from Sandvik, an elution and electro-
winning plant from FLSmidth and perimeter
security fencing. Total expenditure is estimat-
ed at US$9,6 million of which US$5,0 million
is planned in H2 2013.
Vendor financing has been offered on 70 %
of the crushing plant at a very competitive in-
M
DM to work on Liberian gold project
terest rate over a three-year period.
In July, orders were placed for the crush-
ing and elution plants. These projects provide
sustainability and are crucial in realising the
2014 production target of 90 000 oz while al-
lowing capacity for future growth opportuni-
ties. Operating costs will be reduced primarily
from the substitution of the current high cost
under-designed crushing circuit and elimina-
tion of up to 90 % of carbon which is the sin-
gle largest consumable of the plant. The com-
bined payback from increased production and
reduced costs – assuming a US$1 200 per oz
gold price – is estimated at less than one year.
Shipments of the crushing and elution
plants from the manufacturers have been
agreed for the end of November. Commis-
sioning is expected to be completed in the
first quarter of 2014.
