Pickstone Peerless transitioning to underground mining
Pickstone Peerless Mine is transitioning from open pit mining to underground mining with enhanced grades, aiming at boosting its gold production, Pickstone Peerless Mine General Manager Eng Alfred Madowe told the Association of Mine Managers of Zimbabwe (AMMZ) gathering at the technical visit held at the Gold Mine last week.
The US$18 million underground mining project which was initially to be commissioned in April this year, was commissioned in August with its transition going to last up to June of 2024.
According to Eng Alfred Madowe, indicative underground grades range between 3 to 5 grams per tonne while the open pit grades are standing at an average of 1.8 grams per tonne.
He said since the commissioning of the underground project, production has increased significantly with the mine together with Eureka Mine in Guruve producing a combined 210 kgs per month with a focus to increase to 230 kgs per month next year and eventually 250kgs in 2025.
“In December 2021, Pickstone’s underground feasibility study was approved by the board. We started hoisting on the 25th of August.
“We are now producing a combined 210 kgs per month, we are looking to get to 230 kgs next year due to grade improvements and in 2025 we are looking to 250 kgs per month with Pickstone underground and Eureka Open pit,” Eng Madowe said.
According to Madowe, the mine which currently averages 70 per cent gold recoveries is looking to manage that by building 3 big CIL tanks to get maximum gold.
“We are looking to manage recoveries by adding CIL tanks. We had two ball mills, we added a third one and we have added the fourth one now. When we added the fourth, we didn’t add the tanks, so one thing affecting our recovery is our resident time. We have a total of 13 tanks and we need to add 3 big ones,” he said.
Eng Madowe said Pickstone will run as a hybrid mine up to June of 2024 and is building a new tailing facility to avoid a hazard on the current one which is now about 25 metres. He said the expansion of the tailing facility has been approved by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).
“We have our tailings dam which has gone to a height of 25 metres. We are a bit worried about safety there because technically around such kind of height things start going too shacky, I mean you are basically storing mud in such a facility so we are buttressing it now with waste from the pit. We also have a tailing expansion which has just been approved by EMA. We are in the process of transitioning from open pit to underground, we are going to be running as a hybrid mine until about June next year.
Meanwhile, the AMMZ is holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference from November 16th to 19th, 2023, in the resort town of Victoria Falls.
The event brings together mining industry professionals to advance the science and practice of Mining and supporting disciplines such as Survey, Geology, and Metallurgy.
Simply put, the AGM and Conference is the perfect time to engage with the experts and decision-makers who are on the ground actively overseeing the running of large-scale mines in Zimbabwe.
The must-attend event hosts the highest number of technical mining professionals and experts providing attendees with a chance to engage with them directly, strike deals and gain valuable insights.
The Registration fee for attendance at the event is US$600.00 per person.
Registration for the AGM and Conference is now open, and interested individuals are encouraged to secure their spot as soon as possible. To register, attendees can visit: https://protect-za.mimecast.com/s/Jm9MCg5DlAhqpj393cNLxvu?domain=forms.gle.