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MODERN MINING
June 2017
MINING News
ASX-listed Avenira, owner of the Baobab
phosphate project in Senegal, has sub-
mitted an application to convert its Small
Mine Permit (SMP) into a full Exploitation
Permit (previously referred to as a ‘Large
Mine Permit’ or ‘LMP’). The LMP, if granted,
will provide the right foundation for a
production capacity expansion, and will
ensure an extended project tenure (up to
20 years, with further renewals allowed).
This follows Avenira’s announcement
in March this year of an inferred mineral
resource estimate of 114 Mt at 19 % P
2
O
5
at a 15 % cut-off and an indicated mineral
resource estimate of 31,7 Mt at 20,6 % P
2
O
5
at that same 15 % cut-off at Baobab.
In the light of the resource estimates
and the company’s experience with its
existing facility at Baobab, Avenira’s board
has approved a new Strategic Plan devel-
oped by Managing Director Louis Calvarin
Senior appointment byWits School of Mining
As a leading school in the field of rock
engineering, the Wits School of Mining
Engineering has recently appointed
Professor Rudrajit Mitra as Centennial Chair
of Rock Engineering.
Professor Mitra joins Wits from the
University of New South Wales (UNSW)
in Sydney, Australia, where his positions
included Director of Undergraduate Studies
in the School of Mining Engineering since
2012.
“Building on the progress made by
previous incumbents in this Chair, there is
great scope to use the experience of other
countries and various disciplines – such as
computer science, geophysics, metallurgy,
chemistry and finance – to collaboratively
develop solutions,” said Professor Mitra.
Previous holders of the Chair include
well-known local experts in the field such as
Professor Dick Stacey and Professor Nielen
van der Merwe.
“The Chair had been vacant for two
years before the appointment of Professor
Mitra, because we needed tomake the right
appointment,” says the Head of the Wits
School of Mining Engineering, Professor
Cuthbert Musingwini.
The Chair is supported by the Centennial
Trust, established by the school in its cente-
nary year of 1996. The research activities of
the Chair are supported by a 2014 donation
of R1,9 million by global miner Gold Fields.
Professor Mitra earned his first degree
in mining engineering from BE College
in Shibpur, India, and went on to do his
Master of Science in Mining Engineering at
Pennsylvania State University in the US, and
his Doctorate at the Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University, also in the US.
He has published widely in the field
of rock mechanics and rock engineering,
particularly focusing on underground coal
mining. With a particular interest in visu-
alisation technology and simulation, he
was the co-founder of the ‘Future Mining’
conference that promotes innovation in
mining and considers lessons and oppor-
tunities from other industries. The initiative
is a forum for scientists, mine management,
engineers, government, academics and
other stakeholders to visualise and work
towards positive future scenarios for mining.
He also co-developed ViMINE, a sce-
nario-based mine planning tool that helps
mining engineering students to experience
various aspects of a mining operation work-
ing together, integrating several types of
simulation into one environment.
New strategic plan for phosphate mine
and his team. The Strategic Plan includes
two stages: firstly, the optimisation of the
existing ore beneficiation unit to bring
it to a fully sustainable operational level;
and, secondly, the implementation of next
step investments towards the long-term
objective of Avenira becoming a leading
supplier to the fertiliser industry and a
leading fertiliser producer for West African
and international markets.
Stage 1 will deliver a capacity and
performance expansion of the existing
Baobab processing facility. A flotation
line will be added to improve P
2
O
5
recov-
ery from around 50 % currently to around
70 %, and to reduce the silica assay of the
Gadde Bissik phosphate rock concentrate
product. A drying process unit will also be
added to control product moisture at the
commercially required level, including dur-
ing the annual wet season.
“Stage 1 is intended to increase current
production to the 0,5 Mt per annum level
and to improve product quality, opening a
wider segment of the market to our prod-
uct,” explains Calvarin.
Stage 2 will be the construction of a
second production line delivering around
1 Mt/a of additional capacity.
The resulting combined capacity of
1,5 Mt/a will provide sufficient product for
Avenira to supply a dedicated phosphoric
acid facility – this being the company’s
long term strategic objective – while con-
tinuing to grow its relationships with its
phosphate rock customers.
Engineering studies are under way to
provide a detailed design as well as capital
and operating cost estimates for Stage 1.
The expanded plant is expected to be fully
commissioned in stages within 12 to 18
months of funding. Pre-feasibility work for
Stage 2 is projected to start before the end
of 2017.
Avenira has approved a Strategic Plan which will see production capacity at its Baobab project being expanded to 1,5 Mt/a (photo: Avenira).