SAFER POWERFUL PRODUCTIVE RELIABLE • • • • 50 TONNE 4 TONNE 10 TONNE HAUL TRUCK LHD LHD ZERO EMISSIONS • WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF MINING JANUARY 2020 • VOL 221 • NUMBER 1 FEATURES 2020 Global Project Spending Outlook Construction activity in the mining sector continues to increase ...................20 Haile Ramps Up OceanaGold makes major capex investments in South Carolina gold mine and mill .........................................................................................26 Battery-electric Vehicles: Brightening the Mining Industry’s Future E&MJ looks at some of the collaborative projects driving BEV development and adoption, and mulls over the technology’s place in the future of the mining sector .................................................................................................32 Sustainable Water Supply for Chile’s Copper Mines Investigating current and emerging trends in mining desalination projects in Chile .............................................................................................38 Technology Lets Blasters Load Precise Rounds Advances with electronic initiation systems, blast design software and monitoring systems improve safety as well as fragmentation .......................42 Screening Solutions This month, E&MJ’s Project Survey documents the Miners make novel use of screens and media to solve problems ...................46 substantial amount of money mining companies are investing in future mining operations. One of those When Old Beats New companies, OceanaGold, invited E&MJ to see the Suppliers say reman exchange programs are on the rise primarily investments being made at the Haile mine and mill because the products are superior .................................................................50 in South Carolina. On the cover, another Komatsu 730E-10 is assembled at the laydown yard at the Haile mine. (Photo: OceanaGold) LEADING DEVELOPMENTS Newest US Copper Project in a Decade Starts Production .................................4 Equinox Gold, Leagold Will Merge ......................................................................4 Zijin Buying, Buriticá Project in Colombia .........................................................4 Northern Star Will Purchase Other Half of KCGM ...............................................5 DEPARTMENTS Calendar ...................................................... 19 AROUND THE WORLD Classified Advertisements ............................ 62 Equipment Gallery ........................................ U.S. & Canada: Hecla Ramping Up Lucky Friday Mine to Full Production ..........8 60 From the Editor................................................2 Latin America: Fruta del Norte Ships Concentrate .........................................12 Markets ........................................................ 64 Australia/Oceania: Kirkland Lake Sees Potential Second Mining Front Operating Strategies .................................... 54 at Fosterville ..................................................................................................13 People .......................................................... 10 Africa: Barrick Sells Interest in Massawa Project ..........................................14 Processing Solutions .................................... 58 Asia: India Becomes a Net Copper Importer ...................................................15 Suppliers Report........................................... 56 Exploration Roundup: Newcrest Hitting High-grade at Havieron Gold Project ...16 This Month in Coal ....................................... 18 www.e-mj.com JANUARY 2020 • E&MJ 1 FROM THE EDITOR A New Decade Dawns for Mining www.e-mj.com Mining Media International, Inc. Looking back over the last decade, two questions emerge: 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306; Jacksonville, Florida 32224 USA What have we learned and what does the future hold? Annu- Phone: +1.904.721.2925 / Fax: +1.904.721.2930 ally, E&MJ publishes its Project Survey (See p. 20), which details the different stages of mining-related investments. Editorial Some of these projects may come online in the next few Publisher & Editor-In-Chief—Steve Fiscor, [email protected] years and some may never see the light of day. In 2010, Associate Editor—Jennifer Jensen, [email protected] Steve Fiscor mining-related construction investments had slowed to Technical Writer—Jesse Morton, [email protected] Russ Carter, [email protected] Publisher & Editor-in-Chief $57 billion in the wake of the 2007-2008 Global Financial Contributing Editor— European Editor—Carly Leonida, [email protected] Crisis. Recovery was on the horizon and today mining-relat- Latin American Editor—Oscar Martinez, [email protected] ed construction spending is pegged at $209 billion and it’s still growing. South African Editor—Gavin du Venage, [email protected] Looking through this month’s news, readers should note that in 2010, Nevada Graphic Designer—Tad Seabrook, [email protected] Copper’s Pumpkin Hollow mine was at the feasibility stage; Hecla was exploring the feasibility of Shaft No. 4 at its Lucky Friday mine; construction was beginning on Sales Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia; and Fruta del Norte was a gold exploration camp in Ecuador Midwest/Eastern U.S. & Canada, Sales—Victor Matteucci, [email protected] owned by Kinross Gold. Barrick Gold’s Cortez Hill mine was under construction, Western U.S., Canada & Australia, Sales—Frank Strazzulla, BHP’s Jansen Project was at the EIS stage, and North American Palladium (NAP) [email protected] was restarting the Las des Iles mine. Our cover story this month, OceanaGold’s Scandinavia, UK & European Sales—Colm Barry, [email protected] Haile mine (See p. 26), was also at the feasibility stage under the ownership of Germany, Austria & Switzerland Sales—Gerd Strasmann, Romarco Minerals. E&MJ would like to thank OceanaGold for the invitation to see [email protected] and report on the developments at the Haile mine. Japan Sales—Masao Ishiguro, [email protected] Many names disappeared during the last 10 years and new ones emerged. Most Production Manager—Dan Fitts, [email protected] recently, NAP became Impala Canada. Glencore bought Xstrata. Newcrest pur- Marketing Manager—Misty Valverde, [email protected] chased Lihir Gold. Sibanye acquired Stillwater. BHP spun out several operations as South32. PotashCorp and Agrium merged to create Nutrien. Cleveland Cliffs became Cliffs Natural Resources and then returned to Cleveland Cliffs. Triumph and tragedy put mining on the world stage. Everyone cheered when 33 copper miners were rescued in Chile. Three coal mine explosions in 2010 killed dozens of miners at each operation. The world watched as the Samarco tailings dam collapsed and an orange plume flowed through rivers in Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. It would happen again and take the lives of more than 200 miners. Engineering & Mining Journal, Volume 221, Issue 1, (ISSN 0095-8948) is Large open-pit mines, such as Grasberg and Chuquicamata, transitioned to un- published monthly by Mining Media International, Inc., 11655 Central Parkway, derground mining operations. And, the Bingham Canyon mine recovered from a Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224 (mining-media.com). Periodicals Postage paid at Jacksonville, FL, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publi- massive landslide that seemed nearly impossible at time. cations Mail Agreement No. 41450540. Canada return address: PO Box 2600, Time and again mining engineers prevailed, inventing new methods and optimizing Mississauga ON L4T 0A8, Email: [email protected]. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms existing operations. When mineral exploration dollars dried up, junior miners discov- and an editorial calendar, are available at www.e-mj.com. ered drones, which have now become ubiquitous. Gearless drives became a reality for SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualified subscrib- SAG Mills and long, large conveyor systems. Sensor technology and dashboards helped ers. Visit www.e-mj.com to subscribe. Non-qualified persons may subscribe miners understand the usefulness of data. Equipment manufacturers transitioned from at the following rates: USA & Canada, 1 year, $90. Outside the USA & Can- ada, 1 year, $150. For subscriber services or to order single copies, contact a bigger-is-better mentality to mining smarter. Mining operations began making the E&MJ, c/o Stamats Data Management, 615 Fifth Street SE, Cedar Rapids IA leap from automated mining equipment to fully autonomous operations. Today, under- 52401, 1-800-553-8878 ext. 5028 or email [email protected]. ground mines are quickly adopting battery-electric equipment (See p. 32). ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and What does the future hold? Leaf through this edition of E&MJ and readers will retrieval of selected archived articles from leading electronic databases and online search services, including Factiva, LexisNexis, and Proquest. For mi- see where the mining industry stands today and where it is headed. The Project croform availability, contact ProQuest at 800-521-0600 or +1.734.761.4700, Survey details tomorrow’s mines. Our job is to oversee steady improvement while or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. providing a safe, secure and sustainable source of minerals for tomorrow’s world. POSTMASTER: Send address