Modern Mining November 2016

MINING News

ASX-listed Mustang Resources says in its latest quarterly report (for the period ended 30 September 2016) that the bulk sampling plant at its Montepuez ruby project was fully commissioned during the quarter, in the process recovering approxi- mately 460 carats of high quality rubies. The project is located within the Montepuez Complex in the Cabo Delgado Bulk sampling plant at Montepuez commissioned Province of Northern Mozambique. Mustang’s licences lie along the estab- lished NW-SE ruby mineralisation trend which also transects licences of AIM-listed Gemfields. The two 16-ft rotary pans of the plant processed 2 683 tonnes during the com- missioning phase up to 24 October 2016. Mustang says it should be noted that the

sample processed to date is not yet rep- resentative of the entire deposit and that current grade estimations are therefore only indicative of the overall deposit’s grade. It adds that further mining optimisation is ongoing (thereby increasing the grade) given the high percentage of dilutive sand and gangue material that was fed to the plant during this initial commissioning phase. Work is continuing to process the maxi- mum volume of gravel from the Alpha deposit stockpile by the end of Q4 2016 with the plant ramping up to treat up to 350 m 3 per day (approximately 525 tonnes per day at a specific gravity (SG) of 1,5). The Alpha deposit, discovered through initial reconnaissance sampling in July 2016, is the current focus of bulk sample mining operations with 8 385 m 3 (approxi- mately 12 997 tonnes) of gravels already mined and transported to the plant for stockpiling. The first phase of the pit has reached bedrock at 9,2 m with an average gravel package of 1,8 m. The pit is currently being extended to the south-west. The company is currently planning a full auger drilling campaign, starting from the Alpha deposit and extending outwards. The purpose of this drilling campaign will be to map the extension of the Alpha deposit and thereafter to also map all the gravel beds within all three of EPC group has confirmed this grade of fuel product as being suitable for power gen- eration utilising recognised Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) technology. Edenville says that while it is continu- ing to focus on completing the Phase One feasibility requirements for a 120 MW project, it can now move forward with the knowledge that the project has suffi- cient mineable coal resources to support a potential phased expansion for an increase in size of the power plant up to 300 MW. As mining progresses along the strike of the deposit, there is also the possibility of selectively targeting coal through high- wall or auger methods to extract tonnages without the need to mine overburden. The company says it will look at the potential of this in more detail as part of an overall life of mine plan. 

The Montepuez plant is equipped with two 16 ft rotary pans (photo: Mustang).

Rukwa resource can support a 300 MW power plant Edenville Energy, the company develop- ing an integrated coal to power project in western Tanzania, has announced the results of a technical assessment car- ried out by Sound Mining Solution (SMS) of Johannesburg. This follows on from the updated project financial model announced in September 2016.

from any washing of the raw coal. The results indicate that the Mkomolo and Namwele deposits can provide a mineable resource of approximately 90 Mt based on an overall strip ratio of 4:1. This resource could provide enough fuel to sup- ply a 300 MW power plant for a period of approximately 30 years. The company is looking at suitable min- ing options to maximise the recoverable tonnage from the deposit with the aim of keeping coal extraction and processing costs below US$30 per tonne. Washing the coal to a moderate degree could provide a product with an energy value of approximately 14,5 MJ/kg, the raw coal yielding a high recovery of approximately 74 %. Recent independent feasibility work on the project by a major

The analysis by SMS confirms there are sufficient resources at Edenville’s Rukwa coal to power project for a power plant size of 300 MW, an increase from the previously modelled 120 MW power plant. Edenville, in conjunction with SMS, has looked at several different scenarios for the project with the focus being on the provision of fuel of suitable energy value; the targeting of near surface coal to keep mining costs low; andmaximising the yield

8  MODERN MINING  November 2016