Name and Location
Trident project, including the Sentinel copper mine and Enterprise nickel mine, North West province, Zambia.

Client
Kalumbila Minerals, a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals (FQM).

FQM acquired the project in February 2010 through its acquisition of Zambia-focused explorer Kiwara for an estimated amount of $279-million.

Project Description
The Trident project is situated about 140 km west of the town of Solwezi and 150 km from the Kansanshi copper mine, in northern Zambia. It comprises a package of five large-scale mining licences. The licences cover two declared resource deposits – Sentinel and Enterprise – and numerous exploration targets including Intrepid.

Geological drilling and evaluation continue at each of these targets and it is planned that Sentinel will be developed first, followed by Enterprise and then potentially Intrepid. Each area regarded as a significant mine development, which will likely extend over 22 years.

The Sentinel deposit has a total measured and indicated resource of 1.03-billion tonnes, grading 0.51% copper and proven and probable reserves of 774.2-million tonnes, grading 0.50%. The mine will target sulphide ores that will be processed on site to produce an estimated 26% copper concentrate, which will be transported to smelters in Zambia for the extraction and refining of copper.

Sentinel’s processing facility will have a target throughput rate of 55-million tonnes a year of ore at an average grade of 0.5% copper. Higher grades are expected in the first six years of the mine life, which will provide yearly production rates ranging between 260 000 t and 280 000 t and up to 300 000 t of copper. The plant will comprise three in-pit crushers, delivering to a crushed ore stockpile and providing a live capacity of 80 000 t.

Two milling trains, each comprising a 28 MW semiautogenous (SAG) mill and a 22 MW ball mill, will produce a final grind of 80% passing 212 micron for flotation. Four banks of rougher-scavenger flotation cells, each using seven cells of 300 m³ capacity, followed by three stages of cleaning, will provide a recovery of more than 90% into a concentrate of about 26% copper. Tailings will be thickened in 3-m- by 50-m-diameter thickeners before being discharged to the tailings storage facility.

A secondary crushing circuit will be installed to maintain the mill throughput to offset a harder ore in the deeper areas of the pit. This circuit will initially comprise two large cone crushers, with the ability to add further crushers at a later date. The crushers will treat a portion of the ore feeding the stockpile, crushing the top size to below 40 mm. A pebble crusher will also be installed to crush pebbles ejected from the SAG mills to below 10 mm to minimise critical size build-up in the milling circuit.

The Enterprise deposit has a total measured and indicated resource of 40.1-million tonnes, grading 1.07% nickel and proven and probable reserves of 32.7-million tonnes, grading 1.10%. The planned four-million-tonne-a-year Enterprise operation has capacity to produce on average 38 000 t of nickel a year, with scope to increase to 60 000 t/y of nickel.

The proposed 50-million-ton-a-year copper sulphide concentrator and associated plant infrastructure will consist of maintenance workshops, mining facilities, a tailings storage facility and associated administration offices.
Additional amenities required include roads, power and water supply, as well as a significant housing facility.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The capital cost to develop the Sentinel and Enterprise mines is estimated at $2-billion.

Duration
Following a two-year design and board approval for construction in June 2012, the Sentinel mine started commissioning in June 2014, and first production was slated for 2014/15.

The current mine life is estimated at more than 15 years, or until about 2029. The Enterpise mine is planned to be brought on line in parallel with the Sentinel operations, depending on nickel prices, with ore treated at Sentinel .

This timeframe will potentially increase further, as it is possible that additional geological resources will be identified in the Trident project area.

Latest Developments
In the quarter ended October 30, 2014, Sentinel advanced to 98% overall completion.

The project achieved several milestones during the quarter, including the installation, dry run commission and hydrotesting of the first semimobile, in-pit crusher and connection to the national power grid. Meanwhile, Sentinel's Train 1 start-up is being synchronised with that of the smelter.

Enterprise nickel also advanced, with environmental approval received.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Coastal & Environmental Services and Resettlement & Development Solutions, on behalf of the Environmental Council of Zambia (environmental-impact assessment).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
FQM, tel +1 416 361 6400 or email info@fqml.com.