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In March 2007, construction of the processing plant was completed and commercial gold production was achieved in September 2007.
Jinfeng produced 56,981 ounces of gold during 2007 and is forecast to produce approximately 150,000 ounces of gold during 2008.
Ore is currently being mined from the Jinfeng open pit with the mining contractor utilising a modern mining fleet of large haul trucks and excavators. The open pit has a strip ratio of 11.3 to 1, based on the current Ore Reserve of 3.5 million ounces.
Operational flexibility will be provided by sourcing ore concurrently from the open pit and the underground mine. During 2009, the underground mine is planned to start contributing a significant portion of ore processed. At full capacity the underground mine is expected to operate on three main levels, with each level providing approximately 400,000 tonnes of ore.
The contribution of underground ore is forecast to increase the mine’s gold production due to the reserve grade of underground ore being greater than the reserve grade of open-pit ore. Profitability should also be enhanced as mining costs per tonne of underground ore are forecast to be similar to mining costs per tonne of open-pit ore.
The plant site layout is illustrated in the diagram below.
Jinfeng ore is refractory and processing comprises:
- Ore fed to a semi autogenous and ball mill grinding circuit.
- Flotation circuit recovers a pyrite concentrate containing over 90% of the gold.
- The concentrate is oxidised by bacteria using the patented BIOX technology.
- A carbon-in-leach circuit followed by an electrowinning circuit produces gold dore for shipment to a refinery in China.
Overall gold recoveries are planned to be approximately 85%.
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