8
MODERN MINING
May 2014
MINING News
Jubilee commissions third ARC furnace
Jubilee, the AIM-quoted and AltX-listed
Mine-to-Metals specialist, says that commis-
sioning of the third ARC furnace has started
at its Middelburg smelter operations. The
company also reports that the Scoping
report in regard to the mining right appli-
cation for Jubilee’s targeted 70 million PGM
ounces Tjate platinum mining project has
been submitted on schedule to the DMR.
Leon Coetzer, CEO of Jubilee, says: “I
would like to congratulate our Smelter
Operations personnel, engineering con-
tractors and support services for their
tremendous team effort to successfully con-
clude the construction and refurbishment
of our third ARC furnace. The project had
to contend with very challenging adverse
weather conditions but was able to limit
this impact through innovative solutions
and team work.
“This phase of our Smelter Operations
renewal programme is the final step in
establishing a sustainable operation with
positive earnings setting Jubilee apart from
most of its peers in the emerging platinum
mining space. Our focus now intensifies
in line with our stated company strategy
of bringing into production our access to
platinum containing surface material, ulti-
mately to migrate our Smelter Operations
onto processing platinum concentrates.”
The commissioning of the third ARC
furnace marks the final phase of the four-
phase renewal programme implemented by
Jubilee at the Middelburg Smelter over the
past two years. The renewal programme’s
objectives were to expand and upgrade the
Smelter Operations to establish a sustain-
able toll processing operation which is able
to deliver positive cash flows to the Smelter
Operation on the back of secured smelting
contracts.
African Barrick Gold (ABG) reports that
its board has approved the next step in
the optimisation of Bulyanhulu through
the acceleration of mining of the Upper
East Zone. The development of this area
will require additional 2014 capital of
approximately US$15 million, with initial
production from the zone expected within
three months. The area is expected to
produce 1,7 million ounces of gold, aver-
aging 60 000 ounces per annum, over a
life in excess of 25 years at all-in sustain-
ing costs of below ABG’s target run rate for
ABG to accelerate Bulyanhulu project
Bulyanhulu for year-end 2015 of US$900
per ounce.
Commenting on the news, CEO Brad
Gordon said: “One of our key aims for this
year is to demonstrate the potential that
exists at Bulyanhulu and to ensure that the
production base is more representative of
the scale of the reserve base. We are in the
process of commissioning the CIL expan-
sion at the mine, which together with the
acceleration of the Upper East Zone and
the mined grade improvement, provides a
clear path to increasing annualised produc-
tion levels at Bulyanhulu to over 350 000
ounces per annum by the end of 2015.”
Bulyanhulu is an underground mine
with reserves of 9,1 Moz at a grade of
9,5 g/t Au and further resources of 6,2 Moz
at 11,6 g/t Au.
The Upper East Zone is situated approx-
imately 1,5 km east of the process plant, on
the eastern extension of the strike length
of the mine. The zone is currently included
in reserves and was scheduled to be mined
later in the mine life. The Upper East was
initially accessed in 2001 through a 1,8 km
decline from the central ramping system
but was subsequently not developed.
ABG investigated a number of options
to bring forward the ounces contained in
the Upper East with the results of recent
supplemental studies further optimising
capitalised waste development and refin-
ing the geotechnical model. As a result, the
company has completed a revised mine
design which will utilise long hole stoping
for both Reef 1 and Reef 2. The new design
minimises upfront capital expenditure
and ensures positive cash flow generation
in each full year of production at current
gold prices.
ABG now expects to mine Reef 1
and Reef 2 simultaneously using exist-
ing underground access infrastructure
for the first four years before a boxcut is
developed to provide additional access
to the zone and the use of larger trucks
than current infrastructure will allow.
In conjunction with the underground
development, ABG is undertaking a plant
expansion to increase plant capacity from
1,1 Mt/a to 1,3 Mt/a.
Night view of ABG’s Bulyanhulu underground mine in Tanzania (Photo: ABG).
