Highlights18 Mar 2024 11:51
open cast mining continued in pit 3b with a total of 11,400 tonnes mined at an average grade of 1.82 g/t gold (au) with a strip ratio of ore to waste of 2.7 to 1;
· the carbon in leach (cil) plant was recommissioned after the mill relining in january. feed into the cil circuit was 7,350 tonnes for the month of february at an average feed grade of 1.71 g/t. the gold recovered totalled 9,077 grams with a large portion of gold remaining in the process to build required process inventory;
· various recommissioning challenges faced and solved included power outages from the grid supply and stress testing of the feed rate which resulted in misplaced grits reporting into the cil circuit;
· pre-screening of the co**** ore fraction out of the feed improved the grade to the milling/cil plant with the oversize material used as feed to the heap leach plant, thereby progressively improving ongoing flow sheet optimisation.