Engineer Muguza plans big for Union Jack Mine
Union Jack Mine planner, Engineer Panashe Muguza is eying to grow the junior mining operation to a large scale mine in the coming years.
Rudairo Mapuranga
According to the 26-year-old, the mine used an initial CAPEX of US$0.5 million for the project to kick start, going forward 15 per cent of the profit is also reinvested into the mine for the growth and development of a measure which has seen the mine grow significantly.
“We have been ploughing back into the project for its growth and development, initially we invested US$ 6 000 000 but we use what we call a retention, 15 per cent of profits is ploughed back into the project,” said Muguza.
Although Union Jack Mine which started its operations 8 months ago has no national grid power connected at its sight, the company has been using a diesel generator to power its operations which have been going exceptionally well. Muguza said the diesel power generator was however uneconomic for the company’s upscale operations, therefore, the company was considering a solar plant for its operations.
According to Muguza, although the life of the mine is at 22 years, for now, his team is not resting to make sure that the company invests in further exploration and mine expansion.
“We are going to sink vertical shafts once we are done with terrace mining shaft mining that’s our target for the year. Currently, the mine life is about 22 years and we need to extend it. There is huge growth potential,” Muguza said.
The mine is currently producing an average of 13,2 kgs per month with ore bodies proving that it can improve its monthly production. Muguza said the mine in March produced over 15 kgs of gold.
“We are producing an average of 13.2 per month, in March we did 15.3 Kgs,” he said.
He said the mine which is working with one contractor, Bubugao Mining Company, is at the moment doing terrace mining with a plan of sinking shafts before year-end.
In terms of processing or extraction, the Mine is using heap leaching as it is a better alternative to conventional processing. Heap leaching involves stacking ore into a heap on an impermeable pad, irrigating the ore for an extended period of time with a chemical solution to dissolve the sought-after metals, and collecting the leachate as it percolates from the base of the heap.
According to Muguza on its heap leaching, they irrigate the sodium cyanide-treated metal-bearing ore for 8 hours. In heap leaching operating costs are less sensitive to the size of the operation than capital costs.
More and more young Zimbabweans are taking up leading positions in Mines and excelling. Muguza is one of the many that the country can bank on in future and is a significant player in the country’s 12 billion mining industry vision.