Mt Pleasant-based mineral exploration company Centamin Egypt Ltd has announced plans to acquire a Chilean process plant for around $14.7 million, to be used on the company's Sukari project in Egypt.
Mt Pleasant-based mineral exploration company Centamin Egypt Ltd has announced plans to acquire a Chilean process plant for around $14.7 million, to be used on the company's Sukari project in Egypt.
The the Kori Kollo CIL process plant, built and operated by Minproc Engineers in 1993, will be moved by WA-based Roche Mining (JR) Pty Ltd from its current location in Chile to Centamin's project site.
It is the company's first acquisition since reversing its fortunes after posting a $1 million net profit for the year ended 2005-06, after making a loss of $870,412 in the previous reporting period.
The full text of a company announcement is pasted below
Sukari Gold Project - Process Plant Acquisition
Centamin Egypt Limited is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding agreement with a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation, to acquire the Kori Kollo CIL process plant for US$11m. The acquisition will be funded out of existing cash reserves.
The Kori Kollo plant is located in Bolivia and was built and commissioned by Minproc Engineers in 1993. The plant operated for ten years and on-site inspections from Centamin representatives have shown the key plant components to be in excellent condition due to the site altitude providing a non-corrosive environment and the high standard of maintenance practices during operation.
Payment for the plant is to be on a structured basis, pending the satisfactory completion of certain events occurring with title to pass once the plant is delivered into Chile.
The plant is ideally suited to the Sukari orebody and key equipment sizing is well matched to the 4-5mtpa processing rate currently envisaged for the Sukari project. The acquisition represents a key step forward in bringing the Sukari project into production.
Scope of the Acquisition
The purchase includes:
- Crushing circuit - primary gyratory crusher, rock breakers, stockpile feed conveyor
- Grinding and classification circuit - 28' Fuller SAG mill , 2 x 16'6'' Fuller ball mills, mill inching drive, mill liner handling machine
- CIL (Leach and Adsorption) circuit and carbon recovery equipment
- Thickening and process water area - Enviro Clear 75' diameter thickener
- Reagent plant - flocculant plant, caustic dosing system
- Gravity separation circuit
- Sulphur dioxide cyanide destruction plant
- Engineering design and construction drawings
- Operating and maintenance manuals
- Spares inventory
Roche Mining (JR) Pty Ltd has been appointed to manage the dismantling, transportation and refurbishment of the plant.
The plant is currently being electrically isolated to allow for dismantling. This process will be completed sequentially over the next two months, during which time dismantling will commence. The plant will be trucked to the port of Arica in Chile, shipped to Alexandria in Egypt and then trucked to Sukari.
The purchase of this plant represents an opportunity to materially reduce the cost of development of the Sukari project and also accelerate the construction timetable. By necessity, the completion of the Feasibility Study will be delayed whilst a thorough review of the impact of the purchase of this process plant on capital and operating costs is carried out.
A further announcement will be made in due course, as dismantling and shipping timetables are established.