Construction
Construction at Boleo started in November 2010 when the EPCM contractor mobilized to site. Construction is expected to last 24 months and 2,500 workers will be employed at its peak.
Mining
Underground mining started in September 2011. Approximately 95% of all ore processed over the current 23 year life of mine is from underground production and the remaining 5% is from surface mining (open cut mines).
The room-and-pillar mining method using continuous miners (a conventional “soft rock” underground mining method used in coal, potash, or salt mining) will be used for underground mining at a rate of approximately 10,000 wt/day.
Underground mining trials to test equipment, working methods and geotechnical ground responses (undertaken for 7 months in 2005 and 2006), confirmed the suitability of the proposed method and provided valuable field data and information concerning ground behaviour during mining and methods of ground support.
Operations
Copper production is expected to commence in 2013.
A key feature to the process is the use of high-rate thickeners for the solid-liquid separation. The successful demonstration of the solid-liquid separation characteristics of the leached clay ore followed by an effective process for dealing with the manganese in the pregnant leach solution was proven in two separate pilot plant campaigns held at the SGS Lakefield facility in Ontario, Canada, in 2004 and 2006.
Geology
The copper-cobalt-zinc-manganese deposit comprises seven stratiform clay-rich mineralized ore beds which dip gently to the east but faulting, and produce a step-like pattern in the present position of the ore beds. The ore beds are flat lying, close to the surface and accessible from the surface.
Manganese
The recovery of manganese is currently not included in the project economics. Marketing and engineering design studies are scheduled for 2011.
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Machinery at Site