Kolwezi Tailings Project to Proceed in DRC


Copper will be recovered from the Kolwezi tailings in a circuit similar to that used at First Quantum
Minerals’ Bwana Mkubwa plant, shown here.
First Quantum Minerals announced that the board of Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings SARL (owned by First Quantum, 65%; Gecamines, 12.5%; Industrial Development Corp. of South Africa, 10%; International Finance Corp.,7.5%; and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 5%) has committed to proceed with the development of the Kolwezi tailings project. First Quantum with support from its contributing equity partners of KMT (specifically IDC and IFC) will finance or procure third party debt project financing totaling up to $593 million. This satisfies the obligations of First Quantum, the IDC and the IFC to complete feasibility studies, carry out an environmental impact assessment, prepare an environmental management plan, and to obtain commitments with respect to the financing of the Project.

The base case for the Kolwezi project with a capital cost of $553 million is for a plant capable of treating 2.5 million mt/y of tailings throughput potentially producing 35,000 mt/y of copper cathode with the corresponding production of 7,000 mt of cobalt hydroxide. Tailings will be recovered utilizing high-pressure water monitors and will be pumped to the SX/EW treatment plant. The copper circuit will be based on proven SX/EW copper operations at Bwana Mkubwa and Kansanshi and the cobalt circuit will be based on plant processes similar to those operating at Mopani's Nkana cobalt plant.

Project construction completion is targeted for the third quarter of 2009 with commissioning taking place during the fourth quarter of 2009 and commercial production in the first quarter of 2010. The plant, which is targeted to initially produce 35,000 mt/y copper and 7,000 mt/y of cobalt hydroxide, will be designed and constructed such that plant capacity can be doubled at a capital cost of $40 million. Mine life is expected to be 22 years at an annual rate of 70,000 mt/y. Development of a cobalt metal facility and the expansion of copper and cobalt capacity are options that will be considered in the future.

As featured in Womp 08 Vol 1 - www.womp-int.com