The process plant at Asante Gold Corp.’s Bibiani gold mine in Ghana has been successfully refurbished and operations have commenced, according to the company. Following an intensive period of refurbishment and upgrade of the plant, principal equipment has been commissioned and confirmed operational. A 14-day period of intermittent operation is planned to test controls, calibrate operating systems and align critical equipment “under full load.” This is expected to lead to 24 hour/day operation by the end of June.
“The excellent and timely work completed safely by Ghanaian contractors, is just another example of how the Ghanaian mining industry is fully resourced to support development and maintenance of modern, large-scale mining operations,” President and CEO Dave Anthony said. “With the process plant operational, Asante is now ready to advance with start of operations.”
The Bibiani gold mine came out of care and maintenance in September and an extensive refurbishment program has continued since that time. With the support of its key contractors, Asante said it remains on track to pour gold in the third quarter of 2022.
The mining program is on track, with material movement running at 6 million metric tons per month (mt/m). Stockpiling of mineralized material on the Run of Mine pad (ROM) has been ongoing since mining commenced in February. As of late May, there are more than 200,000 mt of mineralized material on the ROM pad, the company said.
Comprehensive refurbishment has been completed on the primary crusher, all conveyors, SAG and ball mills, ancillary equipment, all mechanical drives, lubrication systems, electric motors, pumps, piping, electric systems, instrumentation systems, valves, steelwork, rubber installations and civil works.
Harlequin International conducted the refurbishment program and ensured a high level of quality work was completed safely, Asante said.
