Photo by: Bloomberg
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-listed diamond development company Stellar Diamonds said on Thursday that commissioning testing of its 100 t/h dense media separation (DMS) plant at the Baoulé kimberlite project, in Guinea, had started ahead of trial mining, which is targeted for October.
Over the past three months, the company had successfully relocated its processing plants and earthmoving machines from its Mandala alluvial mine and its Droujba kimberlite project, in Guinea, to the Baoulé site.
The plants were reconstructed to establish an integrated kimberlite processing plant that could process both weathered and fresh kimberlite material from the 5 ha kimberlite pipe at Baoulé.
Stripping of waste material and previously dug kimberlite had started and a commissioning stockpile of this mixed kimberlite and waste had been established adjacent to the plant.
This material would be used to test the plant to achieve operational efficiency.
Simultaneously, a stockpile of kimberlite ore was being established that would be processed once the plant was fully commissioned.
“The objective of this programme is to collect and process a minimum 100 000 t of kimberlite over the coming year to determine the diamond grade and value of the pipe.
“Furthermore, such a large sample will establish the presence and quality of large stones in the pipe. As part of this exercise, any diamonds produced will be sold into the market and generate cash flow,” the group said in a statement.
Commenting on the operational progress, Stellar Diamonds CEO Karl Smithson said commissioning was under way to establish the optimal operating parameters for the 100 t/h plant, after which the first kimberlite ore would be processed.
“Our objective is to process a very large sample that will not only establish the diamond grades and values with high levels of confidence, but also determine the presence of any large stones for which the Aredor region of Guinea is world renowned,” he noted.
Stellar added that the Baoulé project had remained unaffected by the Ebola virus disease and operations were continuing as normal.
The company had implemented certain operational protocols to protect its staff and these continue to be strengthened.
“Stellar continues to monitor the situation very closely to protect its staff and the communities in which the company operates,” it stated.