Australian mining and exploration company, Sandfire Resources has commenced with open pit mining at its 100%-owned Motheo Copper Mine in Botswana, Southern Africa.
First pre-strip material was mined at the T3 Open Pit deposit in late March, roughly one week ahead of schedule against the project execution plan, with mining currently making excellent progress. The start of open pit mining by Sandfire’s contracting partner, African Mining Services (AMS), a division of Perenti Global, marks another important milestone towards the start of copper production in CY2023, the company said.
Motheo is a substantial new long-life copper mine and one of the few new copper mines under construction anywhere in the world. It is expected to become the cornerstone of a long-term copper mining hub for Sandfire in the world-class Kalahari Copper Belt.
Development at Motheo is proceeding on schedule and on budget, with first production expected in the first half of calendar year 2023.
Some of the key recent developments include:
- Construction office building occupied and operational.
- A3 Junction Road construction nearing completion.
- Earthworks for the process plant now 98% complete and plant civil works progressing well, with foundations progressing for the primary crusher, SAG Mill, tails thickener and reclaim tunnel vault.
- Construction of the 750-room Mine Village advancing, with 160 rooms now occupied.
- Construction of the 132kV transmission power line advancing, with tower construction and assembly well underway.
Sandfire CEO, Karl Simich, said: ‘The start of open pit mining operations represents another important step on the road to production, and to have achieved this milestone ahead of schedule is a testament to the hard work of our project execution team in Botswana, led by Project Director, Ian Kerr. In addition to the start of mining, we have also made important progress with construction of the process plant and other site infrastructure, putting us on track to deliver first production from Motheo in the first half of 2023. Pleasingly, we have been able to keep the project schedule on track and on budget despite the persistent labour and supply challenges being experienced across the global mining industry. This is a credit to the team and I would like to commend them for their efforts. We’re also nearing completion of the Feasibility Study for the 5.2mtpa Expansion Case at Motheo, which is due for completion in the June Quarter of this year. All the infrastructure currently under construction at Motheo is being built to support this proposed expanded capacity, supporting Sandfire’s plans for Motheo to become the heart of a major new processing hub in the Kalahari Copper Belt.’
