Name and Location
Trident project, including the Sentinel copper mine and Enterprise nickel mine, North West province, Zambia.

Client
Kalumbila Minerals, a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals (FQM).

FQM acquired the project in February 2010 through its acquisition of Zambia-focused explorer Kiwara for an estimated amount of $279-million.

Project Description
The Trident project is situated about 140 km west of the town of Solwezi and 150 km from the Kansanshi copper mine, in northern Zambia. It comprises a package of five large-scale mining licences. The licences cover two declared resource deposits being Sentinel and Enterprise and numerous exploration targets including Intrepid.

Geological drilling and evaluation continue at each of these targets and it is planned that Sentinel will be developed first, followed by Enterprise and then potentially Intrepid. Each area regarded as a significant mine development, which will likely extend over 22 years.

The Sentinel deposit has a total measured and indicated resource of 1.03-billion tonnes, grading 0.51% copper and proven and probable reserves of 774.2-million tonnes, grading 0.50%. The mine will target sulphide ores that will be processed on site to produce an estimated 26% copper concentrate, which will be transported to smelters in Zambia for the extraction and refining of copper.

Sentinel’s processing facility will have a target throughput rate of 55-million tonnes a year of ore at an average grade of 0.5% copper. Higher grades are expected in the first six years of the mine life, which will provide yearly production rate ranging between 260 000 – 280 000 t and up to 300 000 t of copper. The plant will comprise three in-pit crushers, delivering to a crushed ore stockpile and providing a live capacity of 80 000 t. Two milling trains, each comprising a 28 MW semiautogenous (SAG) mill and a 22 MW ball mill, will produce a final grind of 80% passing 212 micron for flotation. Four banks of rougher-scavenger flotation cells, each using seven cells of 300 m³ capacity, followed by three stages of cleaning, will provide a recovery of more than 90% into a concentrate of about 26% copper. Tailings will be thickened in 3-m- by 50-m-diameter thickeners before being discharged to the tailings storage facility.

A secondary crushing circuit will be installed to maintain the mill throughput to offset a harder ore in the deeper areas of the pit. This circuit will initially comprise two large cone crushers, with the ability to add further crushers at a later date. The crushers will treat a portion of the ore feeding the stockpile, crushing the top size to below 40 mm. A pebble crusher will also be installed to crush pebbles ejected from the SG mills to below 10 mm to minimise critical size build-up in the milling circuit.

The Enterprise deposit has a total measured and indicated resource of 40.1-million tonnes, grading 1.07% nickel and proven and probable reserves of 32.7-million tonnes, grading 1.10%. The planned four-million-tonne-a-year Enterprise operation has capacity to produce on average 38 000 t of nickel a year, with scope to increase to 60 000 t/y of nickel.

The proposed 50-million-ton-a-year copper sulphide concentrator and associated plant infrastructure will consist of maintenance workshops, mining facilities, a tailings storage facility and associated administration offices.

Additional amenities required include roads, power and water supply, as well as a significant housing facility.

Value
The capital cost to develop the Sentinel and Enterprise mines is estimated at $2-billion.

Duration
Following a two-year design and board approval for construction in June 2012, the Sentinel mine started commissioning in June 2014, and first production is slated for year-end.

The current mine life is estimated at more than 15 years, or until about 2029. The Enterpise mine is planned to be brought on line in parallel with the Sentinel operations, depending on nickel prices, with ore treated at Sentinel .

This timeframe will potentially increase further, as it is possible that additional geological resources will be identified in the Trident project area.

Latest Developments
Construction activities maintained peak pace in the quarter ended June 30 and, at the end of the quarter, Sentinel passed 21.5-million man hours worked and achieved 94% overall project completion.

Milestones as at the end of the quarter include 131 000 m³ of concrete poured, 98% of project steel on site, with 89% of the site steel erected; erection of all four mills and mill drives. The Chisola raw water coffer dam and inlet water pipelines are complete and the raw water line to the plant site is being commissioned. Commissioning of process plant equipment, including thickeners, flotation cells and potable water systems are all under way. Construction disciplines are fully engaged with the commissioning on site. Housing and infrastructure works are 95% complete according to schedule. Mining fleet assembly is progressing well ahead of schedule and is 99% complete. The first in-pit crusher is scheduled to undergo dry commissioning early in the third quarter.

Power transmission line works continue with partners ZESCO and the company’s construction contractors. Stringing of the power line conductors from the Lumwana mine has been completed and the ZESCO substation was energized on August 14, 2014. This line will provide the first 90 MW of power to the site to support the crusher and mill commissioning activities. This will allow continuous operation of the first milling train by the fourth quarter of this year. Construction works are in progress on the longer power line to Lusaka West and Mumbwa for the supply of the full electrical demand at Sentinel, and the contracted completion date for this section is the end of 2014.

Environmental approval for Enterprise nickel, located approximately 12 km north-west of Sentinel, is under application.

The processing plant area under construction for future Enterprise ore will be commissioned and run on Sentinel ore until the Enterprise mine is approved. Engineering design for the four-million-tonne-a-year circuit is complete, the SAG and ball mill foundations are complete and the mechanical erection of the SAG mill is under way. Concrete works for the stockpile feed conveyor vault are well-advanced with supporting earthworks under way. Construction is scheduled to be completed in early 2015, with commissioning during the year.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Coastal & Environmental Services and Resettlement & Development Solutions, on behalf of the Environmental Council of Zambia (environmental-impact assessment).

On Budget and on Time?
Sentinel continues to perform strongly on its capital cost and schedule targets. Capital cost is estimated at $1.9-billion, and the target completion date is unchanged with staged commissioning of milling started in August 2014.

Contact Details for Project Information
FQM, tel +1 416 361 6400 or email info@fqml.com.