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16
MODERN MINING
August 2017
MINING News
Rainbow, the AIM-quoted rare-earth
element mining company, reports that
independent laboratory testing recently
undertaken in respect of its ‘main vein’ at
Gasagwe in Burundi has returned an aver-
age Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) grade
of 62,17 %. Gasagwe is the area within the
company’s 39 km
2
mining licence which is
expected to provide ore for the first two
years of production, which is targeted to
commence in Q4 2017.
The grade compares extremely
favourably to the average grade of 57 %
contained within mineralised veins
across the project area as disclosed in the
Competent Person’s Report compiled by
MSA and contained in Rainbow’s IPO pro-
Exceptional rare earth grades confirmed at Gasagwe
ner thyssenkrupp RawMaterials inQ4 2017.”
The laboratory testing was under-
taken by ALS Chemex using its facilities
in Canada and reviewed 20 individual
ore samples taken from the main vein at
Rainbow’s Gasagwe area of operations.
In order to facilitate the production
of rare earth concentrate from the run of
mine material produced during mining,
the company is constructing a processing
plant at Kabezi which has been designed
to operate on a batch basis with the capac-
ity to produce over 5 000 t/a of rare earth
concentrate without incremental capital
expenditure.
The run of mine material will be pro-
cessed simply by physically separating
the mineralised vein material from the
waste rock without requiring chemical
processing.
According to Rainbow, the project is
proceeding well. At the Kabezi site, civils
are well underway and the first contain-
ers of plant components have been
dispatched from South Africa ahead of
assembly during September and October
2017. At the Gasagwe mine site, work con-
tinues to expose the main vein ahead of
full-scale mining operations.
Rainbow recently hosted the President
of the Republic of Burundi, Pierre Nku
runziza, and other notable guests at an
inauguration ceremony for the Gakara
project on 21 July.
View of the Gasagwe mine site, where work continues to expose the main vein ahead of full-scale mining
operations. This photo was taken in July this year (photo: Rainbow).
spectus published in January 2017.
Martin Eales, CEO of Rainbow, com-
mented: “This really is fantastic news. We
always knew that the Gakara project was
capable of delivering grades far in excess
of industry norms, but to get this level of
average TREO content from our first min-
ing area is a wonderful boost as higher
grade means that we shall achieve higher
prices for each tonne of concentrate sold.
“Taking into account the continued
strengthening of rare earth prices over
recent months, the Gakara project contin-
ues to add to its excellent potential. We are
now gearing up towards our first produc-
tion and sales of high-grade concentrate
through our multinational distribution part-
Mining at Karowe in Q2 lower than forecast
Canada’s Lucara Diamond Corp, which
owns the Karowe mine in Botswana, has
announced second quarter revenues of
US$79,6 million or US$1 336 per carat.
During Q2 the company recovered 113
specials (+10,8 carats) which equated to
5,9 % weight percentage of recovered
carats which was in line with expectations
(Q2 2016: 4,6 %).
According to Lucara, Karowe’s min-
ing contractor experienced equipment
availability issues during the beginning
of the quarter that resulted in lower than
planned ore mined. Mining activity there-
fore focused on waste material movement
that is on schedule to ensure increased
flexibility for mining south lobe ore in the
future.
While ore mined was lower than fore-
cast, processed volumes were largely on
forecast as ex-pit ore feed was replaced
with south lobe stockpile material. Due to
the south lobe being of lower grade when
compared to the centre and north lobes,
but of higher value, carats recovered to
date are lower than forecast; however,
Lucara continues to maintain its revenue
forecast due to the processing of higher
value south lobe ore.
Costs remain well controlled at US$30
per tonne processed and are forecast to be
between US$36 to US$40 per tonne pro-
cessed for the year.
The two capital projects to enhance
diamond recovery and maintain design
throughput continued to advance on
schedule and within approved budget,
says Lucara. The Mega Diamond Recovery
(MDR) project is expected to be complete
during Q3 2017, with commissioning and
ramp up in the same period. Construction
is essentially complete and first stage com-
missioning has commenced.
The -8+4 mm sub-middles XRT project’s
construction progressed on plan during
the quarter and is also on schedule for
completion in Q3 2017. This project will
further enhance the processing facilities’
ability to treat the high yielding, high value
south lobe ore at depth and is anticipated
to result in an efficient and cost-effective
methodology for processing this ore.
An underground study at Karowe
has commenced with the firm Royal
HaskoningDHV being appointed to lead the
work. A Preliminary Economic Assessment
is expected in Q4 2017 and, following hydro
geotechnical work, a Pre-Feasibility Study is
expected to be completed in H1 2018.