Name of the Project
Prieska zinc/copper project.
Location
The project is located 270 km south-west of Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Client
Orion Minerals.
Project Description
The Prieska zinc/copper deposit has been recorded as one of the world’s top 30 volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits.
The mine was operated from 1971 to 1991, when it was closed and the site rehabilitated.
Initial metallurgical testwork at the proposed project has yielded positive results demonstrating Prieska’s potential to produce high-quality marketable zinc and copper concentrates.
The results confirm that the remaining Prieska mineralisation, intersected to date, also responds well to metal concentration using froth flotation and recoveries, which might match or exceed historical performance.
Optimised rougher flotation conditions to produce differentiated copper and zinc concentrates from the deep sulphide target have also been determined, as have preliminary rougher conditions to produce a bulk copper and zinc concentrate from the shallow 105
Level target (openpit). Historical rougher flotation conditions have been improved on through a combination of varying reagent dosages and the use of supplementary modern reagents. The resultant rougher products are well suited for upgrading in cleaner circuits to produce saleable products. Cleaner flotation testwork is continuing. Orion MD and CEO Errol Smart has indicated that the project will likely be split into an openpit and an underground operation, with the openpit to produce ore while the underground operations are dewatered and re-established.
The baseline project that Orion is evaluating envisages the mine producing about 100 000 t/m. This rate of production would translate into 12 000 t/y to 15 000 t/y of copper concentrate and 20 000 t/y to 25 000 t/y of zinc concentrate – consistent with the mine’s historic output.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
None stated.
Value
Not stated.
Duration
The project could start production by 2020. The project timeline envisages the completion of a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource estimate by the first quarter of 2018, the lodging of a mining right application in the second quarter, feasibility study results by the fourth quarter and the start of construction of the plant in mid-2019. The proposed underground operation will likely start production by 2022.
Latest Developments
The current focus is on fast-tracking the Prieska project to production.
A bankable feasibility study (BFS) and environmental-impact assessment (EIA) study were started in July. The BFS and EIA work programmes will be undertaken in parallel with current activities – resource drilling, underground inspections and establishment of activities – taking advantage of the substantial historical database from mining and processing at the project.
The BFS will optimise plant design and match the proposed Orion mining sequence, comprising an initial openpit with a mixed oxide/transitional feed from the 105 Level target, transitioning to sulphide feed from underground operations. The BFS is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.
On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
Orion Minerals, +61 3 8080 7170, fax +61 3 8080 7174 or email info@orionminerals.com.au.