MDM Engineering Group Ltd. announced receipt of the scoping study award for Kipushi Corp. SPRL at the Kipushi rehabilitation and re-development project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Ivanplats acquired a 68% share of the Kipushi mine in 2011, and is currently dewatering the project to access its original workings, or fault ore. A further underground deposit, known as Big Zinc, meanwhile, has been identitifed as an imperative to achieve production.
A life cycle mining and business plan will be developed to confirm a viable business for additional mine refurbishment, development and investment in surface processing capacity and infrastructure. Over the mine’s 70 years of operation, 60 million tons of material has been extracted at grades of 6.78% for copper and 11.03% for zinc.
In addition, 0.4 lead tons, 45,000 cadmium tons and 120 germanium tons have been extracted through the existing processing plant. Current metallurgical testwork is under way at Mintek, and a new processing facility has also been requested for the roaster technology to further refine the product.
As of 2012, MDM Executive Director George Bennett said, “MDM completed the design and construction of two copper dense-media separation plants for ENRC in the Katanga Province of the DRC, an area known well to the company; we look forward to building a strong working relationship with Ivanplats.”
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