Minera Panama Selects Equipment Vendors and Plant EPC Contractor



The Cobre Panama copper project mobile fleet will include Komatsu 930E-4 haulers similar to the model
shown above, P&H 4100XPC-AC mining shovels and Komatsu PC8000-6 hydraulic excavators,
Atlas PV271D rotary drills and Cat 16M and 24M graders as well as various items of Cat-brand support
equipment.
Inmet Mining announced its 80%-owned subsidiary, Minera Panama, has selected the mine mobile equipment vendors and the detailed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the processing plant for the Cobre Panama open-pit copper project in the Donoso district of Panama.

Equipment supply contracts have been awarded to P&H Mining Equipment for rope shovels; Komatsu Holding South America for hydraulic shovels/excavators and trucks; IIASA Panama S.A. (Caterpillar) for ancillary and support equipment; and Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions for rotary drills.

The contracts cover 84 pieces of equipment that will be progressively deliv-ered to site starting in 2013 in time to begin pre-stripping operations in the fourth quarter of 2014 and ahead of com-missioning of the mineral processing plant and first shipment of concentrate in the first quarter of 2016.

The total value of the equipment con-tracts is $349 million. The contracts in-clude both supply of the equipment and maintenance and service of the equipment for the first five years of operation.

For the concentrator, Joint Venture Panama Inc. (JVP), a joint venture led by the mining and metallurgy division of SNC-Lavalin, with partners GyM S.A. (a member of Grana y Montero Group) and Techint International Construction Corp., has been engaged to proceed with detailed engineer-ing, procurement and construction. This work will be performed in two phases. Under the first phase, JVP will perform detailed engineering and procurement services. Upon satisfactory advancement of detailed engineering, JVP will proceed with construction management for the facility starting in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Minera Panama has already ordered SAG and ball mills and motors for the concentrator, which are scheduled for delivery starting in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The Cobre Panama plant will treat a nominal throughput of 160,000 mt/d, using two grinding lines, each having capacity of 80,000 mt/d. Current planning calls for the ore feed rate to increase to 240,000 mt/d after year nine of operations to maintain concentrate production levels despite a falling head grade.

The production process will include bulk rougher flotation and cleaners, a molybdenum circuit, a copper concentrate thickener, copper concentrate pumping to a filtration plant and concentrate storage at the port facility, and an assay laboratory and other infrastructure.

The Cobre Panama plant is designed to process ore at a nominal head grade of 0.5% copper and 0.01% molybdenum, with a design maximum head grade of 0.9% copper and 0.015% molybdenum.


As featured in Womp 2012 Vol 12 - www.womp-int.com