Mine tailings at Tsumeb set to earn billions

WEATHERLY International has revealed plans to team up with the sustainable-technology group Allied Intellectual Capital (AIC) to build a plant to recover as much as US$1 billion of metals from the Tsumeb mine tailings dam in Namibia.

Work will begin immediately and the plant is due to come on line by middle of next year, the London-based Weatherly said in a statement yesterday. Weatherly took over operations at Ongopolo Mining last year and recently announced that it will commission the Tsumeb concentrator ahead of schedule to take full advantage of currently high copper prices.The start of operations at Tsumeb will be the first major step towards raising copper output above existing levels.Ongopolo was on the verge of bankruptcy when Weatherly rescued the company through a N$120 million deal.It has already started developing a new underground mine, Asis Far West, to replace the declining Kombat mine.An 800-metre shaft has been sunk at Asis Far West and lateral development to the main ore body is underway.Other development projects include the Tsumeb West and Tschudi mines.Weatherly also has a number of promising exploration projects, including copper deposits at Gross Otavi Central and below the Farm Berg Aukas lead/zinc mine; Harasib, where three zones of lead and zinc mineralisation have been delineated; and an interest in the Valencia uranium deposit in western Namibia.The Tsumeb copper smelter, comprising three furnaces, is a key asset for Weatherly.The current operating capacity of the first smelter is 24 000 to 32 000 tonnes a year, while the second, larger copper furnace and the zinc furnace require refurbishment.Weatherly intends to examine the feasibility of expanding Ongopolo’s smelting capacity significantly in the future, which could eventually enable it to process much larger volumes of ore from other mining companies in the region, and potentially from its own extensive Luanshya deposit in Zambia.Yesterday Weatherly said the plant will use an electrochemical process developed by Everclear, a subsidiary of Reno, Nevada-based AIC.The tailings dam at Tsumeb contains unrefined copper, zinc, lead and silver ore.At yesterday’s London Metal Exchange prices, the combined value of the metals was about US$1 billion, AIC said in a separate statement.Everclear agreed to pay Weatherly US$4.6 million for a 50 per cent interest in the right to process the 15 000 tonnes of mine tailings from Tsumeb, according to the statements.Everclear will get 50 per cent of the net proceeds from the sale of metals recovered.Weatherly said EverClear will make an initial payment of US$920 000 followed by the balance of US$3,68 million consisting of a bankable feasibility study, including an on-site pilot plant and cash.EverClear and Weatherly will provide further funding to the JV to support operations.All capital costs for the JV were expected to be provided by third party financing.The statement said AIC had successfully completed laboratory trials, on behalf of EverClear, using samples provided by Weatherly from its Tsumeb dam.”This has demonstrated yields in the range of 75-85 per cent of refined high purity metals.Work is currently underway to establish the duration, capital cost and operating cost for full-scale operation,” the statement said.Early indications were that on-site metals recovery and refining could take between five and 10 years.Weatherly took over operations at Ongopolo Mining last year and recently announced that it will commission the Tsumeb concentrator ahead of schedule to take full advantage of currently high copper prices.The start of operations at Tsumeb will be the first major step towards raising copper output above existing levels.Ongopolo was on the verge of bankruptcy when Weatherly rescued the company through a N$120 million deal.It has already started developing a new underground mine, Asis Far West, to replace the declining Kombat mine.An 800-metre shaft has been sunk at Asis Far West and lateral development to the main ore body is underway.Other development projects include the Tsumeb West and Tschudi mines.Weatherly also has a number of promising exploration projects, including copper deposits at Gross Otavi Central and below the Farm Berg Aukas lead/zinc mine; Harasib, where three zones of lead and zinc mineralisation have been delineated; and an interest in the Valencia uranium deposit in western Namibia.The Tsumeb copper smelter, comprising three furnaces, is a key asset for Weatherly.The current operating capacity of the first smelter is 24 000 to 32 000 tonnes a year, while the second, larger copper furnace and the zinc furnace require refurbishment. Weatherly intends to examine the feasibility of expanding Ongopolo’s smelting capacity significantly in the future, which could eventually enable it to process much larger volumes of ore from other mining companies in the region, and potentially from its own extensive Luanshya deposit in Zambia.Yesterday Weatherly said the plant will use an electrochemical process developed by Everclear, a subsidiary of Reno, Nevada-based AIC.The tailings dam at Tsumeb contains unrefined copper, zinc, lead and silver ore.At yesterday’s London Metal Exchange prices, the combined value of the metals was about US$1 billion, AIC said in a separate statement.Everclear agreed to pay Weatherly US$4.6 million for a 50 per cent interest in the right to process the 15 000 tonnes of mine tailings from Tsumeb, according to the statements.Everclear will get 50 per cent of the net proceeds from the sale of metals recovered.Weatherly said EverClear will make an initial payment of US$920 000 followed by the balance of US$3,68 million consisting of a bankable feasibility study, including an on-site pilot plant and cash.EverClear and Weatherly will provide further funding to the JV to support operations.All capital costs for the JV were expected to be provided by third party financing.The statement said AIC had successfully completed laboratory trials, on behalf of EverClear, using samples provided by Weatherly from its Tsumeb dam.”This has demonstrated yields in the range of 75-85 per cent of refined high purity metals.Work is currently underway to establish the duration, capital cost and operating cost for full-scale operation,” the statement said.Early indications were that on-site metals recovery and refining could take between five and 10 years.