West Africa-focused gold and silver producer Endeavour Mining has met a milestone, its first gold pour, at the Sabodala-Massawa expansion project in Senegal. The pour was achieved on 18 April, the miner said on 29 April, both on budget and on schedule. Construction took about two years. “We are proud to have achieved our first gold pour at the Sabodala-Massawa…
Read More
South African miner Gold Fields has confirmed the early retirement of its chief financial officer and executive director Paul Schmidt. The company said Schmidt will also be stepping down from its board of directors. Both changes were effective 30 April, though he will remain with the company through 30 June. Alex Dall, currently the vice president of Corporate Finance, has…
Read More
While it can require considerable effort, keeping haul roads smooth, appropriately graded and clear of debris can have a significant impact on costs and productivity. Motor graders, the machine of choice for haul road maintenance activities, have a direct impact on how productively and safely other machines can operate. Good road conditions also reduce truck maintenance, lower fuel costs, increase…
Read More
Komatsu South Africa has confirmed the handover of a P&H 4800XPC rope shovel, the world’s largest, to the crews at the Mogalakwena operation in Mokopane, South Africa. The machine, only the second of its kind besides an initial one in Canada, was assembled on-site at the operation – a task that involved 47,711 man-hours. Construction of the rope shovel involved…
Read More
Omai Gold Mines announced positive results from its first preliminary economic assessment for the Wenot project – one of two gold deposits located on its past-producing Omai property in Guyana. The report supports an initial open-pit mining scenario for production averaging 142,000 ounces of gold per year over a 13-year mine life, with peak year production of 184,000 oz. Total…
Read More
A Democratic Republic of Congo copper-zinc mine leveling up its power infrastructure has retained Trafo Power Solutions for the supply of three mini-substations and two transformers. The order was for two 2000 kVA transformers to step down the electricity supply from 6.6 kV to 550V, as well as three dry-type miniature substations. Two of the mini-substations are rated 315 kVA…
Read More
Kumba Iron Ore, an Anglo American subsidiary, said its Sishen and Kolomela iron ore mines in South Africa have been assessed against the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance’s (IRMA) comprehensive mining standard, achieving the IRMA 75 level of performance. The IRMA scoring system recognises four levels of performance: IRMA Transparency, in which a mine is third-party-assessed and publicly shares its…
Read More
Sibanye Stillwater has confirmed the suspension of production from the Siphumelele shaft at its PGM operations in Rustenburg, South Africa. The company said 20 March that “damage to surface infrastructure” was sustained 29 February. Specifically, an ore collector bin attached to the shaft headgear sheared off and fell to ground, damaging a surface ore conveyor belt system. While no injuries…
Read More
Canadian-based Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) has marked the soft start of the underground operations at Zandfontein, part of its flagship Crocodile River mine in the Bushveld complex in northeastern South Africa. CEO Wanjin Yang said crews are now beginning to ramp up underground mining efforts and bring run-of-mine material to the surface. In the second quarter, it is planning to begin…
Read MoreUnions in Guinea have suspended a nationwide strike that had put the brakes on the mining sector across the West African country, according to a Reuters report. The strike first began on 26 February and was primarily involving the application of a wage deal reached last November as well as lowering food prices and lifting internet restrictions. The news service…
Read More