EMED Mining Public Ltd (AIM: EMED) updated investors on the progress of reports relating to the permitting of the Rio Tinto copper mine (Proyecto Rio Tinto or PRT) that are being submitted to the relevant regulatory authorities of the Junta de (Government of) Andalucía.
The Rio Tinto mine, whose re-start is planned for Q4 2010 and production in 2011, has a JORC-compliant mineral resource of 205 Mt (million tonnes) at 0.46% copper for 0.95 Mt of copper.
These submissions are being finalised in line with the schedule outlined in the permitting roadmap announced in December 2009. This work has involved regular consultation and interaction between the EMED Mining team, its technical consultants and the authorities where appropriate.
The combined efforts of those various experts have led to many improvements being designed into EMED Mining's plans for restarting PRT. The restart submissions will now be based on an extended mine life of 14 years along with commitments to exploration drilling to be carried out in the first three years. This exploration is targeted at doubling the current ore reserves.
Compared with mine designs generated during the 1990's, mine planning software now facilitates better optimisation of the open-pit mine design. The utilisation of new drilling and explosive technologies are planned for rock blasting. Those blasting practices should enable better separation of ore and waste as well as optimising the fragmentation of ore, thus reducing the energy required for processing. This also has material environmental benefits.
The processing plant will be updated with modern instrumentation and automation to work in-tandem with the existing infrastructure, enabling lower energy consumption and increased copper recovery. The process circuit is that of conventional flotation and concentration, as suitable for this type of ore and as used in over 70 percent of the world's copper mines. The aforementioned improvements serve to ensure compliance with the latest international standards.
The project’s environmental management systems will be developed to the International Standards of ISO 14001, enabling improved mining operations and better protection of the environment.
EMED Mining has also placed a great deal of emphasis on planning for the protection of historical and cultural heritage in consultation with the local communities and the Department of Culture and Heritage, it said.
EMED Mining plans to give preference to local employees and suppliers for PRT's planned operating expenditure - approximately €75 million per annum.
EMED Mining Managing Director Harry Anagnostaras-Adams commented: "The numerous improvements planned for Proyecto Rio Tinto will bring this mining operation up to the standards appropriate for the 21st Century. All these improvements are under review by leading consulting firms SADIM, EPTISA, EYGEMA, APPLUS, CGS, SUBTERRA, HIDROGEST and AMC.
"EMED Mining has already adjusted its regulatory submissions to extend the planned mine life of PRT to 14 years. We intend to invest in ongoing research and development which should further add to the mine life and optimise extraction of this very large copper deposit."
EMED’s two key project are the planned re-start of the Rio Tinto mine and the Biely Vrch gold project in Slovakia. At Biely Vrch, the initial scoping study envisaged a mining operation of 3 Mt (million tonnes) of ore per annum and a recovered grade of 0.6 to 0.7 g/t (grammes per tonne) of gold to produce some 60,000 oz (ounces) per annum. The project has additional drill-confirmed potential below the current mineral resource of 41.7 Mt at 0.79g/t gold, containing 1.1 Moz (million ounces).
EMED Mining has other notable earlier-stage activities focused on copper and gold, as follows: exploration licences in the copper-mining districts of Cyprus; a large mining lease in Georgia, Caucasus; and a 25% shareholding in KEFI Minerals PLC (AIM: KEFI) which operates exploration joint ventures in Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.