JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Auroch Minerals has submitted the environmental-impact assessment (EIA) report on its Manica gold project for assessment by the Mozambique Ministry of Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA).

Auroch Minerals MD Dean Cunningham said in a statement on Thursday that the submission of the EIA to the MICOA was a major milestone in the development of the Manica gold project, “the significance of which cannot be understated in terms of moving forward with the Stage 1 definitive feasibility study (DFS)”.

The company stated that the EIA clearly indicated no fatal flaws in terms of potential environmental and social-impact issues with regard to its proposed mining activities at the Manica gold project, which is north of the town of Manica, in Mozambique.

The EIA – conducted by Mozambique environmental consultancy EnviroSig, registered with MICOA, and South Africa-based environmental consultancy SLR Consulting Africa – enabled Auroch Minerals to comply with the terms of the 25-year mining concession, which was granted in March 2011, and the ongoing development and exploitation of its gold resources.

As part of the EIA process, the company noted that it also completed significant work integral to the Manica gold project’s Stage 1 DFS.

This involved in-fill drilling and metallurgical assay results at Dot’s Luck and Guy Fawkes, which, together with the historical database, provided the data and material for additional metallurgical testwork.

Metallurgical testwork was performed to confirm earlier preliminary recovery factors, which were required to establish the chemical composition of the gold-bearing ores to be processed. The final report was due in March.

As a result, the gold plant process design was updated, mass balances recalculated and key equipment lists repriced to a prefeasibility study accuracy level to establish water consumption and waste disposal rates.

Further, the company also noted the completion of surface geotechnical studies for the tailings disposal site, the decision on the placement and preliminary design of the gold plant infrastructure, and preliminary openpit designs – produced by mining consultant Royal HaskoningDHV – which included capital and working cost estimates. Preliminary gold plant and infrastructure capital and working cost estimates were also concluded by Basil Read Matomo, a subsidiary of JSE-listed construction and engineering group Basil Read.

“The board and management team are delighted with the progress of the Manica gold project to date and believe a sustainable mining operation will be achieved,” Cunningham noted.