JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A gold retrieval unit (GRU) installed at one of Brazil Minerals’ gold mining concessions, in Brazil’s Jequitinhonha river valley, started operations late last week, the US miner reported on Monday.
The GRU was built to specification at a metalworking facility in northern Minas Gerais. After being transported to its current location, it took over two weeks to configure, test and optimise several aspects of its operation, including the electric grid connection from a diesel-powered portable generator, as well as the water pumping mechanism.
The GRU has a specially designed motorised trommel that feeds material into two centrifuges working in parallel.
Though it has only been running for a short time, the GRU has already proven that operational costs will be lowered from its $150/d diesel and labour costs.
The company sees the GRU installation as an initial step in technology development and aims to roll out more units on its ten gold mining concessions.
Meanwhile, Brazil Minerals noted that a portable diamond and gold plant of an unrelated third-party enterprise had also started operations using motorised trommels as a separation step.
The plant forms part of a royalty agreement, whereby Brazil Minerals will receive 25% of the third party’s production of gold and diamonds with virtually zero cost to Brazil Minerals.