 JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim- and ASX-listed Sylvania Resources would now start construction of its new Lannex tailings dam, after being granted the required water licence, it reported on Friday.
“The delays experienced in obtaining the permissions necessary for the construction of the new tailings dam seriously delayed Sylvania being able to exploit the full potential and capacity of its biggest plant and had a significant impact on the ounces produced by the group during the second quarter of 2010,” said Sylvania MD Terry McConnachie.
Sylvania stated that the suspension of the Lannex plant had been the main reason for its overall platinum-group metals (PGMs) output having dropped by 16% to 6 937 oz in the quarter ended June 30, 2010, compared with the 8 294 oz produced in the first quarter of the year.
Sylvania holds a 74% interest in Sylvania Dump Operations (SDO), which treats chrome tailings to recover PGMs from Samancor Chrome’s mines on the eastern and western limbs of the Bushveld Igneous Complex.
In April, SDO had been forced to suspend its Lannex tailings facility, owing to constraints on the amount of tailings that came from the existing temporary tailings dam.
However, with construction of the new dam to be completed in the next three months, the tailings facility, which treats feed from the Lannex mine, would now be able to ramp up to its full design capacity to treat 70 000 t/m of ore feed by the fourth quarter of this year.
Sylvania also expected SDO’s other four PGMs tailings facilities to ramp up to produce close to their full design capacity at the same time.
Earlier this month, SDO had commissioned its R97-million Doornbosch tailings facility, which was expected to eventually ramp up to treat 20 000 t/m of ore feed to produce 1 000 oz/m of PGMs.
It would, however, initially produce about 670 oz/m of PGMs.
SDO’s other assets included the Millsell, Steelpoort and Moonooi tailings facilities.
The Millsell facility had produced 2 340 oz of PGMs during the June quarter, up from the 2 407 oz produced in the first quarter of the year.
Cash costs at the operation had increased by 90% to R3 997/oz, compared with R2 099/oz in the first quarter, owing to additional electricity charges arrears of R4,3-million.
Further, PGMs output from the Steelpoort facility fell by 14% to 2 876 oz, compared with the 3 343 oz produced in the first quarter of the year, as a result of lower-grade feed material.
However, production at the Mooinooi facility increased by 72% to 1 385 oz of PGMs, compared with the 803 oz of PGMs produced in the first quarter of the year.
The Mooinooi run-of-mine (ROM) section had now been commissioned and should improve recoveries and grade, going forward, while also “substantially” extending the life of the facility, stated Sylvania.
Meanwhile, Sylvania said that output at its 25%-owned chrome tailings retreatment plant (CTRP), at Aquarius Platinum’s Kroondal mine, had increased marginally to 326 oz of PGMs, compared with the 317 oz of PGMs produced in the previous quarter.
Frequent stoppages had made the CTRP unstable, leading to the poor recoveries, it said.
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