MacPhersons Resources Ltd. (MRP), a mining company based in Kalgoorlie, Australia, will proceed with a new Merrill Crowe plant along with introducing a gravity circuit to the proposed 480,000 metric tons per year (mt/y) plant expansion at its Nimbus silver-gold-zinc project.
“An ongoing review of our mineral resource and the progressive drilling results has now shown that there will be an early component of gravity recoverable gold and silver from the Nimbus silver super pit,” said MacPhersons Resources Managing Director Morrie Goodz. “The earlier introduction of the gravity gold/silver plant and zinc/silver flotation circuits allows us to process ore from our additional gold assets at Boorara and Coolgardie immediately upon commissioning of the plant. This means the company will have an earlier diversification into silver, gold and zinc production in the first half of 2014.”
A zinc/silver flotation circuit will also be added and will be ready for processing sulphide material earlier in the production schedule.
The new plant design is larger and more flexible, allowing for early production from gold and zinc streams, and will allow for the co-treatment of ores from various sources, including the Boorara (located 2 km west of the Nimbus mill) and Coolgardie gold projects. The go-ahead for the scoping studies to commence on the company’s gold assets has been issued.
MacPhersons believes the upgraded plant will be of significant benefit and will allow prompt processing of ore mined from the Nimbus silver super pit, as well as its gold resources. The Front End Engineering & Design (FEE) contract for the design of the plant expansion was awarded to Kalgoorlie-based CPC Engineering. Design criteria are being finalized with the construction tender documentation to be completed in February 2013.
