17 / 60
April 2015
MODERN MINING
15
MINING News
Twangiza gold production hits a new record
Canada’s Banro Corporation, listed on the
TSX and NYSE, reports that its Twangiza
mine in the DRC produced 35 943 ounces
of gold in the first quarter of 2015, a 78 %
increase over Q1 2014, successfully manag-
ing the adverse impact of the rainy season.
Twangiza and Banro’s second mine,
Namoya, are both located on the Twangiza-
Namoya gold belt in the South Kivu and
Maniema provinces of the DRC to the
south-west of Bukavu.
“Twangiza is performing well and
achieved its third consecutive record quar-
terly gold production. Twangiza will be
optimised in Q2 for operational improve-
ment. Namoya is positioned to improve
during Q2 2015 as we are ramping up ore
production following the installation of the
agglomeration stage (with cement added
as a binder) into the Namoya heap leach cir-
cuit. The agglomeration drum is expected
to allow for more efficient processing of the
fines content of the Namoya ore and ensure
more efficient reagent percolation in the
heap process, leading to better gold recov-
ery,” commented Banro CEO and President
John Clarke.
At Twangiza, larger mine production
allowed the operation to prioritise higher
grade for processing, while ample dry stock-
piles allowed for consistent throughput to
optimise the quarterly plant throughput
(428 844 t), reaching the annualised design
throughput of 1,7Mt/a. Management plans,
over the next two quarters, to continue to
debottleneck the process to ensure this
capacity can be maintained permanently
before pursuing higher targets.
At Namoya, Banro reports a signifi-
cant improvement in heap leach stacked
tonnes during the first quarter with 64 720
tonnes stacked in January, 87 441 tonnes in
February and 103 162 tonnes in March for
a first quarter 2015 total of 255 323 tonnes.
Namoya poured 3 260 ounces in January,
2 687 ounces in February and 3 307 ounces
in March for a first quarter 2015 total of
9 254 ounces of gold.
With the commissioning of the agglom-
eration circuit and debottlenecking during
Q1 2015, it is anticipated that the gold
production profile for the Namoya opera-
tions will rise incrementally from its current
level of approximately 3 000 ounces per
month achieved. With heap leach opera-
tions taking several months of continuous
percolation to fully recover the leachable
gold, the full benefits of the improvements
to the heap leach circuit are expected to
build up during Q2 2015 to a monthly gold
production rate of 9 000 to 11 000 ounces
per month during H2 2015.
Premier African Minerals Limited, listed on
AIM, reports that construction of its flagship
RHA tungsten project (RHA) in Zimbabwe
remains on course. Premier is the operator
of RHA and holds a 49 % interest.
According to the company, earthworks
are ahead of schedule at 21 % actual com-
pletion versus 8%planned, waste stripping
has begun at the open-pit mining area
and the plant, which is being fabricated
in South Africa by Appropriate Process
Technologies (APT), is due for shipment
to site in May. Infrastructure development
(power and water supply and reticulation)
is in progress with all trenching for water
supply lines completed.
The modular plant is designed to meet
a throughput of 16 t/h or 8 000 tonnes per
month and achieve a wolframite recov-
ery of 82,8 %. The stated production rate
excludes any consideration of a pre-con-
centration circuit which, if implemented in
future, could increase the plant through-
put fivefold at a 20 % recovery loss as
determined in the metallurgical test work
announced in September 2014.
The RHA project is located in the
Kamativi tin belt of north-western
Zimbabwe and Premier is planning two
stages of development – a first phase, low
capex (US$4,8 million) open pit, which
provides an 18-month life of mine, fol-
lowed by an underground mine (capex
estimate – US$14,7 million) based on
mechanised long-hole open stoping.
The open-pit annual production will be
96 000 t (ROM) while the underground
production rate will be between 192 000
and 288 000 t (ROM).
Construction on schedule at RHA tungsten project
ROM pad construction at the RHA project nearing completion (photo: Premier African Minerals).