Silvercorp Metals Inc (TSX:SVM, AMEX:SVM), the China-focused miner, has outlined its "green" credentials and said the company continues to investigate ways to operate more efficiently and sustainably.
For example, the company's flagship Ying project, which comprises six separate mines, has historically produced a substantial amount of waste rock that must be stored. In China as a whole, a billion tonnes of tailings and waste rock are generated each year.
In April last year, Silvercorp, in conjunction with Luoning City Investment Company, began building a one million tonne-per-year waste rock treatment plant, which turns the waste into aggregate. Silvercorp provided around US$4.4 million to construct the plant and will recoup its capital costs before the plant's profits are distributed to partners, providing an additional economic benefit to the local community through the commercialization of the sand and gravel produced, it noted.
The aggregate production line at the plant was officially commissioned in April this year.
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"As part of our commitment to safety, efficiency, and environmental stewardship, we are pleased to introduce technology that converts solid wastes such as tailings and waste rock into resources," said Silvercorp CEO Dr Rui Feng in the statement.
"Our management of waste generated from the company's mines is integral to the strategic land reclamation activities and reducing the costs and liabilities associated with waste management. We are proud to integrate innovative sustainable development initiatives at our operations."
Elsewhere, at Silvercorp's GC mine in Guangdong Province, waste rock recycling has been in place since the mine was built, starting in 2010.
The GC mine has not accumulated any waste rock in surface stockpiles, as over 90% of the waste is donated to the local community for processing at their aggregate production facilities, while the rest is used as backfill.
Also, in the fiscal third quarter this year, Silvercorp completed building a paste backfill plant at the GC mine at a cost of US$1.5 million, where around 40% of the mine's dewatered tailings are mixed with cement and pumped underground to fill mined out stopes, with the rest stored in a dry stack tailings management facility.
"Silvercorp continues to investigate innovative ways to operate more efficiently and sustainably, with the goal of reducing the consumption of inputs (electricity, fossil fuels, etc.) and the generation of wastes (solid, liquid, gaseous, etc.). One example is a current study underway investigating the potential use of mine tailings in the manufacturing of certain ceramic products," the firm summed up.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com