Independent study confirms potential for Centamin to expand its Sukari underground operations
LSE- and TSX-listed Centamin reports that an independent option study by Australian mining consultants Entech has confirmed the potential of its expanding the Sukari underground mine, in Egypt, to 1.5-million tonnes a year of ore milled.
This is at the upper end of the previously indicated range and represents a 31% increase in ore mining rates from the current life-of-mine average of 1.1-million tonnes a year, the gold miner points out.
“Expansion of the Sukari underground mining capacity is a significant step towards delivering on our commitment to consistently produce 500 000 oz/y from the Sukari Gold Mine. The ability to expand the underground is a result of our transformed approach to mineral resource management, which delivered a doubling of the underground reserve in 2021, coupled with the productivity and cost benefits that are being realised following the transition to owner mining.
"The expansion option that we are taking forward to the next phase of mine planning offers both low capital intensity and a lower level of execution risk,” says Centamin CEO Martin Horgan.
The option study determined that Centamin would have to invest between $25-million and $35-million in additional capital expenditure for the expansion, with the funds to be spent primarily on ventilation upgrades, underground development, additional fleet equipment and potential increases to the paste-fill plant capacity.
The gold miner says the next step will be to fully engineer and schedule the expansion during the first half of 2023.
Given lead times for equipment delivery and infrastructure implementation, it is estimated that underground mining rates will gradually ramp up throughout 2024 and reach the expanded steady-state levels during the 2025 financial year.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
At SMS group, we have made it our mission to create a carbon-neutral and sustainable metals industry.
VISIT SHOWROOM
FlameBlock is a proudly South African company that engineers, manufactures and supplies fire intumescent and retardant products to the fire...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
