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MODERN MINING
August 2017
MINING News
In its second quarter report (to 30 June
2017), ASX-listed Syrah Resources says
that its Balama graphite project in north-
ern Mozambique was 90 % complete at
the end of the quarter with commissioning
activities underway.
It notes, however, that subsequent
delays in the construction completion of
the processing plant have led to a delay
in the commencement of production
from late August into October and to
an increase in the construction budget
(including contingency) to US$205 million
from US$200 million.
According to Syrah, the slower than
planned completion of structural steel
erection, piping installation and electrical
work in the processing plant (particularly
in the flotation and filtration areas) can
be attributed to a number of factors,
including contractor productivity and
commitment to scheduled completion
dates. It also cites some specific material
shortages of vendor-related equipment
and piping materials, minor fabrication,
design and installation issues, requiring
re-work, and reduced power availability
delaying commissioning.
Commissioning activities began in
May 2017 utilising low voltage generator
capacity on site and the planned usage of
a 1 000 kVA portable generator from early
July. On-site commissioning of the power
station was dependent on the use of a load
bank and sufficient load being available
from the processing plant. Unfortunately,
says Syrah, a truck transporting both the
generator and the load bank was involved
First production from Balama delayed till October
The Balama processing plant photographed in June this year (photo: Syrah Resources).
in an accident en route from South Africa
resulting in both items needing to be
replaced. The replacement load bank and
generator arrived on site at the end of July
and have now been installed.
Syrah says that management and
supervision continue to give the highest
priority to recovering lost time and have
been working around the clock with con-
tractors to implement several initiatives to
ensure delivery of the project. The com-
pany notes that, as the delay is relatively
short and the initial planned production
volumes are modest, it does not antici-
pate any material impact on total planned
production for the 12-month period com-
mencing August.
The operations team organisational
structure is established and staffed, and
the teams are completing training and
preparation for operation of the pro-
cessing plant. The mining contractor is
established and – says Syrah – displaying
excellent operational performance with
initial mine development and the stock-
piling of mineralised ore onto the ROM
stockpile complete, ready for production.
The mining technical support team con-
tinues to refine the mine planning model.
Balama will be a simple, low strip ratio,
open-pit operation. Processing will utilise
conventional processes including crush-
ing, grinding, flotation, filtration, drying,
screening and bagging. The processing
rate is 2 Mt/a with the nameplate capacity
being 380 000 tonnes of graphite concen-
trate per annum.
Ity indicated resource climbs by a million ounces
Endeavour Mining, listed on the TSX,
reports that its exploration programme
at its Ity CIL project in Côte d’Ivoire has
increased the indicated resource by 1,0 Moz
to 3,8 Moz since the beginning of the year.
This marks a 1,5 million ounce increase
in the indicated resource base since
the publication of the November 2016
Feasibility Study (FS), representing a 65 %
increase. An updated reserve estimate
is due to be published in September
as part of an Optimisation Study (OS)
which is expected to be based on a circa
4,0 Mt/a gravity circuit/CIL plant, an
increase from the previously contemplated
3,0 Mt/a plant, to better capture the value
created from recent exploration success.
“Our exploration team has done excep-
tional work over the past months which has
led to a significant increase in the resource
base at Ity ahead of the Optimisation Study,”
commented Patrick Bouisset, Executive
Vice-President Exploration and Growth at
Endeavour. “These results and the numer-
ous other identified targets, on which
initial drilling reconnaissance is currently
being conducted, further demonstrate the
prospective nature of the greater Ity area
and our confidence in delivering against
our five-year exploration strategy disclosed
last November. We believe that the 80 km
Ity corridor which we control is among the
most prospective areas in West Africa and
we look forward to building on our explora-
tion success.”
Sébastien de Montessus, President and
CEO, stated: “Under Patrick’s leadership,
Ity has been transformed from a 20-year
operation nearing the end of its life into
an asset that now has the potential to be
one of our flagship operations. Our abil-
ity to quickly grow the indicated resource
demonstrates the robustness of Ity, as well
as the quality of our exploration team.
We now look forward to announcing the
results of the Optimisation Study and
making a formal investment decision in
September, following which we will transi-
tion the construction team fromHoundé to
Ity later this year.”