35 / 64
September 2015
MODERN MINING
33
feature
COUNTRY FOCUS –
NAMIBIA
starting blocks
Left:
The processing plant
at Otjikoto, which has now
been expanded to take its
capacity to 3 Mt/a.
Below:
A very recent view
of the Otjikoto pit. The
mine operates a fleet of 12
Cat 777D haul trucks which
are loaded by Liebherr
excavators and a Cat
hydraulic face shovel.
This has involved the installation of additional
leach tanks, a pebble crusher and associated
piping and pumping components. The work
has just been completed and the plant is now
working at its full 3 Mt/a capacity.
Regarding safety, Otjikoto has maintained
a generally good record. In fact, the construc-
tion phase (which included the mill expansion
that ran concurrently with operations in 2015)
was completed in August 2015 with a record
of 900 LTI-free days. Two minor LTIs, however,
have been sustained during operations at the
mine, one in October 2014 and the second in
August this year.
The excellent performance of Otjikoto can be
judged from the figures for the second quarter
of 2015, the first full quarter of commercial pro-
duction. Over the three-month period, the mine
produced 36 963 ounces of gold compared to its
budget of 35 106 ounces and the 31 134 ounces
(including 18 815 ounces of pre-commercial
production) produced in the first quarter of
2015. Higher than budgeted gold production
was mainly the result of better than expected
mill throughput (711 462 tonnes processed
versus 624 112 tonnes budgeted) and higher
mill recoveries than projected (98,7 % versus
95,6 % budgeted).
During the quarter, the average daily mill
throughput was approximately 7 900 tonnes
of ore per day, exceeding the design capacity
of approximately 6 800 tonnes of ore per day.
The average gold grade processed was 1,63 g/t
compared to the budget of 1,83 g/t.
The processed gold grade continues to
increase towards budget as the mine opti-
mises mining grade control to reduce ore loss