Canadian-headquartered Silvercorp Metals has confirmed the completion of its tailings storage facility No. 3 and its new 1,500-tonne-per-day flotation production line at the Ying complex in the Henan Province, China.
The project, it said, wrapped in early December 2024 on time and under budget. Both facilities are now fully operating as designed following a one-month commissioning period.
The addition of the new flotation production line will enable the milling capacity at Ying to be increased to over 1.3 million tonnes per year.
Currently, the company is operating three TSFs at Ying, with TSF No. 1 in the process of closing and decommissioning, and TSF No. 2. having six years of life remaining. The first phase of TSF No. 3, with storage capacity of approximately 9.92 million cubic metres, will support Ying at the expanded operating rate of 1.3 million tonnes of ore per year over 12 years.
The second phase of TSF No. 3 will have approximately 9.29 million cubic metres of capacity. The total storage capacity of TSF No. 3 is 19.21 million cubic metres.
Phase 1 of TSF No. 3 was constructed for approximately US$28 million, less than the original budget of $38 million.
In accordance with Chinese safety regulations, TSF No. 3 will be checked and assessed after a three-month test run for safety and quality by the Department of Emergency Response of Henan Province, then have a safety production license issued.
The flotation production line at Ying’s No. 2 Mill was completed in 4Q24 at a cost of $7.2 million, and was completed on time and on budget. Commissioning was held in November 2024.
“The relatively low capital expenditures are in part due to taking advantage of existing facilities and infrastructure at the No. 2 mill, including the crushing circuit, concentrate thickener and dewatering system, and the existing tailings discharge system,” Silvercorp said.
The new 1,500 t/d flotation production line, equipped with a Knelson gravity concentrator, is able to produce silver-lead, zinc and copper concentrates, plus gold gravity concentrate. The robust design of the production line allowed it to achieve 1,700 t/d capacity after one month in operation, with a final target of 1,800 t/d capacity.
With the addition of the new production line, the total milling capacity at Ying is expected to reach over 1.3 million tonnes per year, enough to process increased mining capacity at Ying, plus future production from the nearby Kuanping mine.
Source: www.silvercorpmetals.com