$50-million to be spent on exploration as part of Lumwana ex

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humpv

Messages: 315

Inscription: Sam 5 Sep 2009 19:42

Message Mar 11 Oct 2011 18:33

$50-million to be spent on exploration as part of Lumwana ex

Gold miner Barrick Gold says it expects to spend about $50-million on exploration this year as part of a first-stage feasibility study for the expansion of its Lumwana copper mine.

Since completing its acquisition of copper miner Equinox, in June, Barrick has launched an 18-month exploration programme at the Lumwana mine to increase the measured and indicated resources for the expansion study, which it expects to be complete in the second half of 2012.

Barrick spokesperson Andy Lloyd tells Mining Weekly the company plans to add a minimum of 16 drill rigs, primarily at the mine’s Chimiwungo deposit.

The additional rigs will assist in con- verting mineralised inventory and inferred resources to the measured and indicated categories. Barrick will also conduct extensional drilling, infill-drill two potential starter pits and evaluate the potential for a third starter pit.

“There is excellent potential for both brownfield and greenfield resource growth. “We feel confident we can materially increase resources, throughput and production at Lumwana. There has been no significant drilling on targets outside the identified Lumwana resource areas for 15 years,” he notes.

Wide-spaced drilling is planned for the recently discovered Mutoma deposit, as well as drilling to test advanced sediment-hosted copper/gold targets located else- where on the Lumwana mining lease and on other exploration properties in Zambia, including the Copperbelt.

In June, Mining Weekly reported that, when the expansion feasibility study at the mine was started in early 2010 by previous owner Equinox Minerals, it was aimed at evaluating a plant capacity expansion of 20-million tons a year of ore to an increased capacity of 35-million tons a year.

The study was based on the defined resources at that time.
Barrick is now in the process of updating the expansion study, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2012.

Lloyd says, in addition to conducting exploration to materially expand resources, Barrick is focused on effecting opera- tional improvements and effi- ciencies, as well as the ongoing evaluation to determine the optimal size of the expansion
“Through this, we hope to realise the full potential of this asset and maximise the long-term cash flow,” he adds.

Areas for operational improvements include mill debottle- necking, pit reoptimisation, changes to mine sequencing, dilution control, higher equipment availability and leveraging Barrick’s supply chain agreements.
Edited by: Henry Lazenby
Les LT vaincront !
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mgauthi4

Messages: 4604

Inscription: Dim 6 Sep 2009 20:50

Message Mer 12 Oct 2011 07:54

Re: $50-million to be spent on exploration as part of Lumwan

some more $ tax for zambians ...

Kool

Retourner vers About Lumwana - Equinox

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