February 2014
MODERN MINING
9
MINING News
tre, where the population has grown from
10 000 to 50 000 people over the past
three years,” Bristow said.
“To ensure that Kibali’s full benefit
potential is realised, however, Randgold
requires the continuing cooperation of
its Congolese stakeholders and partners.
Locally, for instance, the authorities are
being encouraged to build the admin-
istrative capacity to manage the model
town of Kokiza and its infrastructure. At
the national level, government is urged to
take care that its proposed revision of the
Mining Code does not deter further invest-
ment in the development of the country’s
mineral wealth and rather work with us
and other investors to build on what we
have all worked so hard to deliver.”
Kombat Copper studies re-opening of copper mine
Kombat Copper Inc, listed on the TSX-V in
Canada, says it is rapidly taking steps to
determine the cost and schedule for bring-
ing the former producing Kombat mine,
located in northern Namibia, back into
production.
Extensive data related to past production
and resource drilling is being compiled and
Southern African consulting groups have
been approached to scope out the require-
ments for a technical report. This will enable
the company to formulate a time line and
budget to get the Asis Far West sector of the
Kombat mine into production.This study is to
be completed in the second quarter of 2014.
Based on the conclusions of the study,
Kombat Copper plans to undertake a
detailed budget, plan and schedule includ-
ing but not limited to technical feasibility
studies, detailed engineering, permitting
and other aspects of putting the deposit
into commercial production. A resource
estimate is the first priority.
The Asis Far West area of the property
was drilled from surface in the 1980s and a
number of significant copper intersections
were reported over a strike length in excess
of 650 m, including 10,0 m at 8,05 % copper
and 9,0 m at 2,67 % copper. Subsequently,
it was decided to sink a shaft to the upper
limits of the favourable stratigraphy. A large
diameter, 800-m deep production shaft
was completed in 2006 and limited under-
groundworkings were established. A limited
amount of underground drilling was carried
out with intersections including 18,0 m at
3,53% copper and 6,15% copper over 8,0m.
Unfortunately, economic conditions and a
heavy inflow of water into the mine to the
east (not interconnected with Asis Far West)
forced a shutdown of commercial operations
at Kombat and the operation has been on a
care and maintenance basis ever since.
Kombat Copper is looking to define a
minimum of 4-5 Mt of copper mineralisa-
tion averaging between 2,5 % and 3,5 %
copper in the Asis Far West Zone
Comments Bill Nielsen, the President and
CEO of Kombat Copper: “Very recent geo-
logical investigations have indicated that
a significant re-interpretation of the geo-
logical model and emplacement of copper
mineralisation at Kombat mine is being for-
mulated. This new understanding can have
long-term implications on the company’s
exploration and mining outlook. We still
have several kilometres of strike length to
explore on our mining licence and believe
that the favourable stratigraphic horizon
hosting significant copper mineralisation is
present to the west where a 1980s drill hole
intersected 1,68 m assaying 11,7 % copper
and 151,48 g/t silver.”
Kombat Copper is also looking at the
feasibility of expanding the current milling
facility from a 1 100 tonne per day operation
to something larger that would allow for
improved economies of scale. Past opera-
tors looked at an area for potential open-pit
mining and this blended with underground
material could justify a mill expansion.
Other operators in the area have intersected
significant copper mineralisation that could
also be used as custommill feed, which may
help improve project economics.
In addition, Kombat is studying the viabil-
ity of disposing of non-core assets such as
the potential mining of material from the
tailings containment area resulting from
past mining. It says that a number of groups
have approached the company with respect
to re-processing what has been estimated
to be 10,6 Mt of material. Detailed drilling
of the stacked tailings in 2012 indicated that
the upper 15 m of the dump (total height
25-26 m) contains material assaying 0,25 %
to 0,30 % copper, based on the average of
the established regularly spaced drill holes.
The twin decline development at Kibali is
currently running ahead of schedule (photo:
Randgold Resources).
