MedChemMining-FS Text
MedChemMining-FS Text
MedChemMining-FS Text
0 MINING
1.1 SCOPE OF STUDY
The scope of the mining study encompasses the development of the Choco 10 ore body using
open-pit mining methods. It defines the pit optimization process and establishes the detailed
mine design parameters, mine sequencing and production planning of the project.
Open-pit optimization;
Detailed pit design with access ramps and pit slope angles;
The most recent block model and other related data have been supplied by Micon to Met-Chem
Canada in various available formats as follows:
Micon, using Surpac software, conducted all data preparation, geological work and block
modeling. Met-Chem has used MineSigh / Medsystem mining software to conduct all the open-
pit optimization studies, including detailed mine design and mine planning. All data obtained
from Micon have been consolidated into MineSight and rigorously checked to ensure complete
integrity of the data.
Met-Chem has used the data as supplied by Micon in the present mining study. Met-Chem has
not audited the boreholes database, reviewed the geological interpretation of the mineralized
structures, nor checked the resources estimation method.
Following the transfer of the geological block model in MineSight / MedSystem, in order to
ensure that the transfer was done correctly, basic statistics were carried out to compare Micon’s
and Met-Chem’s estimates of the resources in the indicated ore category. The ore classified as
indicated represents the mineralized material on which is based the economic study of the mine.
A summary of the resources comparison at 0.50 g/t is presented in Tables 4.1.
Table 4.1
Comparison of Indicated Resources Estimates (0.50 g/t Au cut-off grade)
The differences in the resource estimates are generally less than 0.2% for all categories, which
includes: tonnes, grades and total Au metal. These marginal differences are well below the
industry standard in data transfer between mine modeling software and clearly confirm the
accuracy of the block model consolidation.
The development of the optimum pit outlines for the Choco 10 ore body is based on the Lerchs-
Grossman 3D (LG 3D) algorithm included in the MineSight software. This pit optimization
algorithm is similar to Whittle 3D. Both are true pit optimizers based on the dynamic
programming of the graph theory to generate an optimized pit shell from the block model.
The algorithm operates on a net value calculation for all the blocks of ore in the geological
model in the indicated category. The revenue is proportional to gold price and weight recoveries
and the net value is obtained by subtracting the mining and stripping and the processing costs
from the revenue.
The following section describes the various steps in the development of the open-pit mine and
scheduling for the Choco 10 gold deposit.
1.3.2 Input Parameters for the Economic Model and LG 3D Optimization
The input parameters used in the calculation of the net value for the indicated ore in the block
model and the slope angle for the LG 3D pit optimization are summarized in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2
Lerchs Grossman 3-D Optimization Parameters
The result of the LG 3D pit is a theoretical pit as it does not include access ramps nor the final pit
slopes or benching configurations.
Using the cost and revenue data and design parameters presented in Table 4.2, computerized pit
optimization was carried out using the LG 3D algorithm. The resulting pit is shown in Figure
4.1. As can be seen in the drawing, the optimization process has clearly outlined the 4 four
mining zones known as Rosika, Coacia, Pisolita North and Pisolita South. The individual
economic bench outlines and the final pit floor obtained for these 4 pits are only conceptual and
are not useable for mining as their irregular shapes are defined by the 12.5m x 12.5m x 5m block
size in the model. Once this optimized conceptual pit design process has been completed, the
design of smoothed pit contours with proper slope stability, practical mining shapes and haul
roads must still be carried out.
The final pit design for the 4 mining zones has been carried out using the LG 3D bench outlines
to serve as guides. In the final design, the pit floors and walls are smoothed and adjusted to
include haul roads and slope angles.
The final operating pits were developed based on the following main design criteria:
Slope Angle and Bench Configuration.
The slope angles and bench configurations are based on recommendations made by
Golder Associates Consultants. A range of ultimate pit slope angles and bench
configurations have been made for each rock types and for various pit sections, ranging
from 38o to 56o. Single 5m benching is generally proposed in the residual laterite soil,
while 10m double-benching and 20m quadruple-benching are recommended for
weathered and fresh bedrocks, respectively.
Final Ramp.
The designed final ramp is 14m wide as measured from the toe of the inside bench to the
crest of the next bench. The width of the ramp was selected based on the use of 50-t
payload class truck (Terex TR-60) having an overall operating width of 4.06m to support
a 2-way traffic and to maintain an interrupted haulage cycle. The final ramp width in
Rosika, Coacia and Pisolita North was narrowed down to single-lane traffic in the last 4
benches towards the pit bottom in order to reduce the waste stripping. Allowance for a
drainage ditch along the ramp as well as an external safety berm is also provided in the
design. The grade of the ramp is 10%. Due to its shallow shape and large size, no
permanent access road is provided for Pisolita South as a series of temporary ramps will
be built as required.
Additional ore
While the LG 3D geometry has optimized the recovery of the tonnage of the economical
mineral resources, it has left deep high grade ore in Rosika and Coacia and in areas
between Pisolita North and Pisolita South with low ore percent blocks as it cannot
support the strip ratio required to mine it. Some ore blocks within the optimized shell
were also excluded during the development of the initial pit outline, due to bench or ramp
design. The marginally economical material and certain material impacted by initial
automated design have been manually incorporated in the final mine design.
The general layout of the detailed pit design is shown in Figure 2. This design has attempted to
closely follow the economic bench outlines shown in the LG 3D pit shell for all the four mining
areas. Single clock anti-clockwise roads are proposed to access the deep ore on the hanging-wall
side, with the roads exiting in-line with the crusher’s proposed location and the main rock waste
dump, in order to minimize hauling distance.
The ultimate pit elevation in Rosika is 50m, representing a total vertical pit of 155m or 31
benches.
Four typical N-S cross-sections through the pit, showing the final pit, the LG 3D profiles and the
ore blocks, are presented in Figures 4.3 to 4.6. Four bench plans with ore blocks and pit
optimization outlines are shown in Figures 4.7 to 4.10.
In open-pit design, it is important to determine the cut-off grade in the assessment of the level of
the economically mineable reserves. The cut-off grade, or the pit-rim cut-off grade, is the grade
of ore which, when processed, will “pay” for the mining, milling and other associated costs. The
cut-off grade determines whether the material being excavated will be milled or discarded on the
waste dump as uneconomical under prevailing current economic conditions. Based on the
operating costs and revenue data and other metallurgical factors presented in Table 4.3, the cut-
off grade has been established at 0.5 g/t Au for all ore types.
Table 4.3
Cut-off Grades by Ore Type
During the excavation and loading of ROM ore, dilution with a certain amount of low-grade
material or waste cannot be avoided. In this study, the dilution is realistically evaluated at 20%,
and assumes rigorous grade control measures are used, these include:
Grade control drilling to define ore and waste boundaries ahead of the mining operation;
All the pits mineable ore reserves, using a 0.50 g/t Au cut-off and stripping estimates contained
in the ultimate pit design, have been calculated and summarized by ore types in Table 4.4.
Table 4.4
Diluted Mineable Reserves and Stripping Estimates (0.5 g/t Au Cut-off) 1
The total mineable reserves, including all the pits, amount to a total of 12.58 million tonnes at an
average diluted gold grade of 2.174 g/t, based on a cut-off grade of 0.50 g/t for all ore types,
representing contained gold of over 879,600 oz. Approximately 85.5% of the gold is contained in
the weathered and fresh rocks, with the weathered group having the most significant share with
61.8%. The total of waste rock and inferred ore is 33.84 million tonnes and the overall waste to
ore ratio of 2.69.
The current mine design, with a total of laterite equivalent tonnes of more than 15.05 million
tonnes, contains sufficient ore to sustain a mine life of 6.5 years, based on an annual mining rate
of 2.3 million laterite equivalent tonnes.
A total of 439,985 tonnes at an average grade of 2.108 g/t Au of inferred material, representing
29,797 oz Au, fall within the limits of the detailed pit design. Production drilling is expected to
ultimately convert this tonnage into indicated category.
The objective of mine planning is to develop a long-range sequencing strategy, which ensures
the maximization of discounted cash flows generated by the mining operations. This is achieved
by mining the highest grade in the early years of operation while delaying the unnecessary
stripping until the later years.
The 3 selection criteria for priority mining between the 4 mining zones are:
Based on these criteria, the preferred sequence of mining envisaged for the development of the
Choco 10 is follows:
Coacia;
Pisolita South;
Rosika;
Pisolita North.
1.4.2 Rate of mining
The determination of the rate of mining depends on the ore blend as each of the 3 ore types. Each
of these ore types has the following different maximum milling rates:
The rate of mining will not exceed the maximum limit of 2.37 Mt/a of ore in terms of equivalent
laterite tonnes for the categories of weathered and the fresh rock. As for the amount of annual
stripping, the production has been optimized over the life of the project in order to maintain a
constant fleet of mining equipment and takes into account the increasing haulage distances as the
pit goes deeper and further form the waste dump.
Mining will follow the normal practice of a conventional open-pit operation utilizing a fleet of
hydraulic shovels and trucks. In order to reduce the mining dilution, the ore will be extracted
using 2.5 to 5 m mining faces starting with a slot, or sinking cut, developed at the appropriate
bench entry point on the ultimate pit plan, or as a temporary access. At this stage, it seems
appropriate that 2 or 3 ore faces will be developed concurrently in order to allow flexibility and
blending to provide a constant feed quality to the mill. The waste will be developed using 10m
height benches. Waste stripping faces will be additional to the ore faces and will be advanced
ahead of the ore.
Two ROM stockpiles for both high grade and low grade will be maintained at an appropriate site
near the crusher. These stockpiles will be sized to store 10 days of production. The purpose of
these stockpiles is blending to provide reasonably constant feed quality to the plant and also to
allow for mine shutdowns due to heavy rainfalls, equipment breakdown or other unforeseen
circumstances.
A set of conceptual annual mining plans has been developed based on the mining criteria
presented in section 4.4.1. Priority mining is in the high-grade weathered ore in Coacia with a
total of 1.29 million tonnes at an average grade of 3.422 g/t Au before dilution.
A summary of the annual production schedule by ore types is presented in Table 4.5. Figures
4.11 through 4.13 show the year-end plans for years 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The production
schedule was developed to insure that there is adequate access to ore and operating space for the
equipment. This mining schedule is a combination of several periods and mining zones, and the
mine will never look like an individual single period as there is a transition “phase” between both
the periods and the mining areas, i.e. a new period can be started before the current period is
depleted.
Table 4.5
6.5-year Production Schedule by Ore Types
Stripping Laterite
Ore Au Waste & Inferred Total Moved Ratio Equivalent Au (oz)
(tonnes) (g/t) (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonne/tonne) (tonnes)
Pre-Production
Laterite - - 350,000 350,000 - - -
Weathered - - 850,000 850,000 - - -
Fresh - - - - - - -
Pre-production period
During the pre-production period, a total of 1.2 million tonnes of waste will be moved
to provide maximum access to the ore at the beginning of the production period. All
the mining activity in pre-production period will be in the upper benches in Coacia
pit.
Years 1
The mining in Year 1 is all in Coacia starting on bench 250m. Mining is on bench
180m by the end of Year 1. The South end of Rosika having a breakthrough with
Coacia North is also developed to reach bench 225m
Year 2
The mining of the remaining ore in the pit bottom of Coacia, from benches 180m to
165m, is completed. Mining begins in Pisolita South from bench 270m down to
bench 230m. A wide berm is left on bench 240m. Mining has also started in the North
end of Rosika from benches 215m down to 190m.
Year 3
The mining of the main pit in Pisolita South down to bench 195m is complete during
the year. In the mean time, mining at Rosika advances on benches 190m to 170m to
establish access to the deep high-grade fresh ore.
Year 4
During year 4, the primary source of ore is in Rosika. The South zone of Rosika is
started to connect with the main pit on bench 165m. Mining in the North zone is
progressing from bench 170m down to bench 135. Only partials of benches 145m,
140m and 135m are excavated during Year 4.
Years 5 – 6.5
The Rosika pit is completed in Year 5 with the depletion of the last bench on 50m
elevation and backfilling in the mined-out pit. During this period, all mining zones in
Pisolita North and all the small satellite pits between Pisolita North and Pisolita South
are depleted.
The open-pit operation will require a significant area available for the disposal of 33.8
million tonnes of waste removed from the ultimate pits throughout the 6.5 years mine
life. The location of the waste dumps involves the consideration of several factors, which
must be balanced against each other. However, the two main design objectives are as
follows:
Long-term stability;
At the Choco 10 mine site, the other aspects to be considered include potential expansion
of the mine as a result of continued exploration, interference with the drainage system
and the environmental requirements. Early in the development of this study, examination
of the surface topography of the area indicated that the possible waste dump site lies in
the East of the Rosika pit, following the usual clearance from condemnation drilling. As
yet, condemnation drilling has not been conducted and the most recent drilling results
have indicated significant gold values to the east of the present outline of the Rosika pit.
Results of the current drilling program and condemnation drilling will need to be
evaluated prior to selection of the final dump site. An alternative suitable area for some or
all of the waste rock could be considered to the west of the deposit.
The dump will have a capacity of 17 million bank m3 in 7 lifts of 10m each. The overall
slope is 25o with a 10-m safety berm between each lift. The width of the access ramp is
14m with a gradient of 10%. Figure 4.14 shows the general layout and location of the
waste rock disposal area.
The waste dump final design criteria, supported by geotechnical work, are required for
determination of lifts heights and slope stability.