Name of the Project
Kansanshi mine – S3 expansion project.

Location
Zambia.

Project Owner/s
First Quantum Minerals (FQM).

Project Description
The project has total proven and probable reserves of 842.7-million tonnes grading 0.63% total copper. Total measured and indicated reserves are estimated at 939.6-million tonnes grad­ing 0.67% total copper for a mine life of 24 years.

The S3 expansion is expected to transition the current selective high-grade, medium-scale operation to a medium-grade, larger-scale mining operation that will be more appropriate for the higher proportion of primary, lower-grade sulphide ores at depth.

When completed, the S3 expansion will comprise a standalone 25-million-tonne-a-year processing plant with a new and larger mining fleet, which will increase Kansanshi’s total yearly throughput to 53-million tonnes.

The S3 processing train will include a 28 MW semiautogenous grinding mill and a 22 MW ball mill. The openpit mine will be expanded to increase the supply of sulphide ore from the main pit and extend into the south-east dome deposit.

The expanded mining fleet will use high-end equipment and will include new electric loading and drilling equipment, along with the extension of the current electric trolley assist infrastructure.

In parallel with the expansion of the mine and processing facilities, First Quantum plans to increase the throughput capacity of the Kansanshi smelter from 1.38-million tonnes a year to 1.65-million tonnes a year of concentrate. This will enable the smelter to produce more than 400 000 t/y of copper anode.

Once the expansion is completed, copper production from Kansanshi is expected to average about 250 000 t/y for the remaining life-of-mine to 2044.

Potential Job Creation
FQM expects that, at its height, the project will generate employment for almost

2 000 engineers and tradespeople. This number will decline as construction is finalised and the project goes into operation.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
The total capital expenditure associated with the S3 expansion is expected to be $1.25-billion, which includes $900-million on the S3 plant and mine fleet, and $350-million for prestripping of the south-east dome pit.

Planned Start/End Date
First production from the S3 expansion is expected in 2025.

Latest Developments
FQM reported on October 19 that, after a decade-long delay, work on the S3 expansion project is back on track. Plans for the expansion were halted in 2013, owing to adverse and inconsistent fiscal conditions.

FQM aims to make the project more productive, efficient and environment-friendly by using diesel-electric mining equipment, and embedding design and engineering improvements into the S3 process plant, based on insights gained from its Sentinel and Cobre Panama operations, in Zambia and Panama respectively.

Kansanshi mine GM Anthony Mukutuma has said the mining firm has bolstered its fleet with the addition of the first of 41 Hitachi EH4000 diesel-electric dump trucks that had recently been commissioned on the mine site.

The mine will commission and deploy two to three dump trucks a month for the next 12 months, marking a significant milestone in the S3 expansion project, he has added.

The construction of the process plant is under way and all necessary equipment has been bought.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
First Quantum Minerals, email info@fqml.com.