Modern Mining August 2017

MINING News

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.  (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. 

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).

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-

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- 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

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-

16  MODERN MINING  August 2017