JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The process plant at Aureus Mining’s New Liberty gold mine, in Liberia, has reached nameplate capacity, following a successful period of commissioning.
The process plant recently underwent a 24-hour performance test, during which the plant was operating at a feed rate of 152 t/h of run-of-mine (RoM) ore at plant availability of 96%, with all other equipment operating within or exceeding its design parameters over a continuous 12-hour period, the dual-listed company said on Monday.
The mine was now on track to reach full scale commercial production by the fourth quarter, to sustain production of 120 000 oz/y throughout 2016.
A certificate of performance test completion had been issued to mine developer DRA Mineral Projects, which was responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction management.
"This is a significant achievement for our team and contractors who have successfully built and commissioned New Liberty and I would like to congratulate all those involved. The successful ramp-up of the process plant to nameplate capacity gives me great confidence in our ability to successfully deliver profitable ounces in line with our business plan,” Aureus CEO and president David Reading said.
Following the first gold pour in May, the mine’s carbon-in-leach tanks and circuit had been fully commissioned and the Vertimill had been installed, on schedule, for final commissioning in August.
Fresh rock mining also continued to progress, with the primary focus on the Larjor pit, with all flood bunds and sumps working as designed.
The miner noted that there were also now sufficient supplies of bulk explosives and blasting accessories arriving at the mine to enable mining to continue as per the mine plan. The on-site explosives magazine had been prepared and construction had started on the Manex emulsion yard.
The first shipment of gold doré was scheduled to be transported from the mine to MKS Pamp in Switzerland for refining by the end of July.