Modern Mining November 2016

MINING News

Mining of fresh kimberlite ore from the K3 pit earlier this year. In-pit mining at Lerala has now been temporarily suspended (photo: Kimberley Diamonds).

In-pit mining at Lerala temporarily suspended

In a recent statement ASX-listed Kimberley Diamonds Ltd (KDL), which owns the Lerala diamond mine in Botswana, says it has become aware of some incorrect media articles in Botswana which have reported the closure of the mine. KDL operates Lerala through its Botswana subsidiary, Lerala Diamond Mines Limited (Lerala). “Mining operations at the Lerala dia- mond mine, which are conducted by external contractor, Basil Read, have contin- ued to date at rates exceeding the plant’s current ability to process feed, which has resulted in the development of a large ore stockpile. As a result, Lerala has asked Basil Read to temporarily suspend their pit min-

ing operations in the K3 kimberlite pipe to allow Lerala to process and reduce these stockpiles to reasonable levels,” says KDL. “Basil Read has now temporarily ceased all in-pit operations until further notice; however, their operations to provide feed from stockpiles to the ROM and into the plant continue. The plant remains in pro- duction and produces diamonds every day. At this stage, Lerala expects the sus- pension of in-pit operations to continue for approximately 3-4 months or until stock- piles are reduced and mining is required to re-commence.” KDL adds that this is a cost saving mea- sure and is not anticipated to impact on Du Preez is a senior finance executive with a track record of capable leadership in publicly-traded international mining com- panies. He is currently also serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Alloycorp Mining Inc (formerly Avanti Mining Inc), a position which he will continue to hold. Buffalo is a coal producer in South Africa. It holds a majority interest in two operating mines through its 100 % interest in Buffalo Coal Dundee (Pty) Ltd, a South African com- pany which has a 70 % interest in Zinoju Coal (Pty) Ltd. Zinoju holds a 100 % interest in the Magdalena bituminous mine and the Aviemore anthracite mine. 

expected production levels. The recommissioned diamond pro- cessing plant at the Lerala mine has been operating since Q4 2016. As announced on 1 September 2016, Lerala has identified some shortcomings in certain pre-existing elements of the plant, which combined with the highly abrasive character of the internal waste within the kimberlite ore, have significantly impacted the plant’s ability to operate at maximum capac- ity on a consistent basis. In response to this, Lerala has developed a performance improvement plan which looks to address the issues at the plant and is in the process of implementing this plan. Although this improvement plan has only recently commenced, KDL says several positive milestones have been achieved to date. These have included: the upgrade of the vibrating grizzly feeder to improve material flow from the head- feed bin; the recommissioning of the CDX X-ray recovery machine; and the upgrade of the coarse cyclone feed pump which processes DMS feed in the range +6 mm to 20 mm. “As reported previously, successful implementation of the ongoing perfor- mance improvement plan is dependent on certain assumptions, most importantly the raising of further funds for capital expen- diture, spare parts and working capital,” notes KDL. 

Buffalo appoints Interim Chief Executive Officer Buffalo Coal Corp, listed on the TSX-V, has announced the appointment of Rowan Karstel as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Graham du Preez as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Karstel has a wide range of cross commodity mining experience and has performed at senior management levels at several mining companies in South Africa and Mozambique. He holds a BSc degree in Mining and Civil Engineering from the University of Pretoria, a Master’s degree in Mineral Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch.

18  MODERN MINING  November 2016