Webinar IA-Teknik Metalurgi ITB – 07/08/2020

Recovery Improvement Plan at

Gold Heap Leach Operation

Augy Wilangkara
Principal
Eminent Process Solutions
 Process Definition
Process loop of reviewing resultants of a process compared to the desired performance
based on optimum output criteria, implement changes and review the results of the
changes.

Talks

What is Improvement Plan and Why It is Done

Case Study: Bouly Heap Leach Operation in Burkina Faso

Recovery Variance Investigation

Improvement Plan

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 Operational
Strategic › Production shortfall
› Operational Controls
› Mine reserve related
› Market demand › Supply Chain Issues
› Corporate image › Employee Issues incl. fraud
› Shareholders confidence › Bribery and Corruption
› Sale pricing pressure › Commodity / material
› Industry downturn prices

Key Drivers
› Macroeconomic
› Political Issues
› Legal Issues › Debt and interest rates
› Terrorism › Financial management
› Natural disasters › Asset losses
› Goodwill and amortization
› Accounting problems
Hazard
Financial

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 Risk Identification

Time Cost
› Schedule overruns
› Budget Exceeded
› Tasks omitted from
› Unanticipated Expenditure
Schedule
› Opportunity to
compress Schedule
Resources
Communication › Team is under-resourced
Identify
› Materials shortage
› Poor communication Risks
› Machinery unavailable
(Stakeholder
› Industrial Action
dissatisfaction)
› Skills gap
› Positive & timely
communications (positive
publicity)
Environmental
Scope
› Scope creep › Inclement weather results in re-work
› Scope poorly defined › Weather delays progress
› Project changes poorly › Adverse effects occur
managed › Environmental approvals not
complied with

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 Bouly – Project Background

Project history
• No artisanal mining, first exploration by Randgold in 1996-1997: geochemistry, geophysics, trenches, RAB drilling
• Acquired by Nordgold in 2008 as part of High River Gold exploration portfolio in Burkina Faso (“BF”)
• The project is located 5-10 km east from the Bissa mine, close to Bissa water reservoir
• First JORC resource estimate in 2012: 1 Moz at 0.78 g/t, at 0.6 g/t cut-off grade
• In 2012 preliminary metallurgical tests showed excellent heap leach potential for weathered and transitional rock
• Scoping study in 2013-2014 followed by 36,000m of shallow in-fill and step-out drilling
• Feasibility study in 2014-2015, construction decision and start of EPCM in 2015
• Production start expected in H2 2016
Geology
• The mineralization is hosted within metamorphosed meta-volcanics, diorites and porphyritic diorites cut by faults and
shear zones
• The oldest rocks are the metamorphosed volcanics associated with the Birimian volcanic event. The meta-volcanics
are intruded by, and mostly replaced by, a large body of diorite
• The youngest rock of significance is a porphyritic diorite which appears to intrude all of the other rock types

Exploration drilling summary

• 102,000 m drilled in 2007-2014, including DD, RC and AC drilling
• 760 drill holes over 3 km2 area
• Maximum depth 800m, average depth 130m
• Typical drill pattern 40m by 80m

Ownership
• The property is 100% owned by Bissa Gold (90% Nordgold, 10% BF state)
• No third party royalty or agreement
• The permit (Bissa mining permit) is valid until 2031 and is renewable

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Bouly - Regional Geology

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 Bouly – Project Background

Project Location Map

• Easily accessible by national highway (85 km)
from Ouagadougou (capital of Burkina F, city of
1.5 million), then by Bissa gravel road (16 km)
• The area is flat, elevation varies between 300
m to 330 m Bouly Taparko
Bissa
• Vegetation is mainly savanna type grasses,
bush and widely spaced trees of all ages.
About 30% is covered by vegetation
• The climate is distinguished by seasonal wet and
dry periods:
o The rainy season begins in June to July and Ouagadougou
extends through September. Typical seasonal
rainfall is approximately 900 mm and
temperatures in this period average between
25°C to 30°C
o The dry period begins in November and
extends through March. Temperatures during
this period average between 15°C to 30°C
• Operating climate at Bouly is year-round

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 Bouly – Mineral Resources

• Bouly pit constrained mineral resources amount to 3.5 Moz,

of which 2.0 Moz are oxide (0-40m) and transitional (40-80m) ore,
very suitable for heap leach processing
• Resources were pit-constrained using the following
economic parameters:
o Gold price US$1,400 /oz
o Mining cost US$2 /t
o Processing cost US$5.65 /t
o SG&A cost US$0.5 /t
o Metallurgical recoveries: 85%, 73% and 56% for oxide,
transitional and fresh ore, respectively
• Grades were capped at 6 g/t
• Previous resource estimate (2012): 1 Moz at 0.78 g/t, at 0.6 g/t cut-
off grade or 2.9 Moz at 0.53 g/t, at 0.3 g/t cut-off grade, mostly
Inferred, unconstrained

Bouly Mineral Resources as at 31 December 2014 (JORC 2012)

Tonnes (kt) Grade (g/t Au) Gold (koz)

Measured - - -
Indicated 107,453 0.53 1,842
Measured & Indicated 107,453 0.53 1,842
Inferred 82,189 0.62 1,645
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 Bouly – Mineral Reserves
Bouly reserves of 1.32 Moz at 0.56 g/t are Bouly Ore Reserves as at 31 December 2014 (JORC 2012)
calculated assuming: Tonnes (kt) Grade Gold (koz)
(g/t Au)
• Gold price of US$1,250/oz
• 85%, 73% and 56% metallurgical recoveries for oxide, Proved - - -
transition and fresh ore, respectively Probable 73,831 0.56 1,318
• Cut-off grades 0.18 g/t, 0.21 g/t and 0.3 g/t were Proved & Probable 73,831 0.56 1,318
applied, respectively
• Average strip ratio 0.7 t/t

Bouly Long Section and Pit Shell

0.2-0.6 g/t

0.6-1.0 g/t

100 m
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 Bouly – Financial Summary
Feasibility Study demonstrated robust economics
• IRR of 41% at US$1,250/oz gold price
• US$1,250/oz gold price used for base case, but project remains robust at lower prices as well

Bouly Key Metrics Unit US$1,250/oz US$1,100/oz Comments

Reserves Moz 1.32 Probable category
Grade g/t 0.56
Strip Ratio t/t 0.7
Recovery % 83

Life of Mine Years 10 Mining in years 1 – 8

Annual Production koz 118 Years 1 – 8, processing capacity 7.5 Mtpa
EBITDA US$m 70 54 Years 1 – 8

Construction Capex US$m 154 Incl. US$8.5 million import tax, which was
reduced
Total Cash Cost US$/oz 665

All-In Sustaining Cost US$/oz 734 Years 1 – 8

NPV US$m 142 70 At 10%

IRR % 41 26
Payback Period Years 2.5 3.5 From start of construction

Production Start - H2 2016

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Bouly – Pit Design and H/L Pad Layout

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 Bouly – Metallurgical Summary
• Low Abrasion index
• Ox* and Tr * 0.013 to 0.043 “non-abrasive ore”
• Fr * 0.093 “slightly abrasive”

• Low Crushing Work Index, Kwh/t

• Ox 1.4 to 2.7 “very easy to crush”
• Tr 5.0 to 7.3 “easy to crush”
• Fr 17.5-21.9 “low end for fresh rock”

• Moderate Cement consumption, kg/t: 3 to 6

• Except for Highly Weathered ore (up to 12 kg/t)

• Low Cyanide consumption: 0.15-0.5 kg/t

• High Gold recovery in column tests:

• Ox and Tr: 80-93% “excellent”
• Fr: 53-76% “moderate”

• Fast Kinetics of the leach in column

• Ox 90% of final recovery in 15 days
• Fresh rock leaching is slow, up to 150 days

• Predicted production recoveries: Ox 85%, Ox-Tr 86%, Tr-Fr 73%, Fr 56%

• Design criteria: lift height 10 m, leach cycle 150 days, cement 5 kg/t, NaCN 0.3 kg/t

*Ox, Tr and Fr – Oxide, Transition and Fresh ore

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 Bouly – Metallurgical Summary

Comp. Crush Leach Residue Residue Extd Extd Calc. Calc. Assay Assay Au Ag NaCN
Size Duration Grade Grade Grade Grade Head Head Head Head Extn Extn Cons.
(mm) (days) (Au g t-1) (Ag g t-1) (Au g t-1) (Ag g t-1) (Au g t-1) (Ag g t-1) (Au g t-1) (Ag g t-1) (%) (%) (kg t-1)

MC-8 : Saprolite 25 33 0.11 0.60 0.75 0.1 0.86 0.8 0.86 0.7 87 16 0.18
MC-9 : Shallow Saprock 25 33 0.09 0.5 0.71 0.2 0.80 0.6 0.87 0.6 89 30 0.39
MC-10 : Deeper Saprock 25 64 0.64 0.3 0.71 0.6 90 50 0.33

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Bouly – PFD

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 Bouly – Heap Leach Schematic (Sep 2018)

6 lifts max

Lift 3
• 5.4 mln t (design) 10-11 m cell
height Expansion stage
under construction:
1050 m * 635 m

Lift 2: (finished)
• 5.9 mln t
• 0.61 g/t
• ~74% recovery

Lift 1 (finished):
• 6.9 mln t
• 0.65 g/t
• ~74% recovery

12 cells per lift

635 m width

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 Bouly – Recovery Performance

1 The gap between stacking and putting into irrigation is 2-3 days
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2 Au smelted / Au put into irrigation
 Bouly – Problem Statement
Geology / Mining 2 • Transitional ore feed • 48% of ore feed in March-May was
Transitional with the recovery of
~15% less then Oxide (design)

Crushing 1 • Crushing size

• Coarse crushing size decreases
recovery on ~5-10% (SGS)

Agglomeration

Stacking

4 • Solution and cyanide supply • Not enough BLS pump capacity to

Irrigation management deliver enough solution volume on
third lift of stacked ore
• Fluctuation during rain season

Adsorption

• GIC increased by 140% (+1.5 koz)

3 • GIC increase
from January to August

Desorption

Smelting 17
 LEACH KINETIC VARIABLES

Variables Affecting Leach Rate

Tr(R) = t*Dint*[A]*e/([Au]sol*B*ro2*t)
● R Recovery
● Tr(R) Transformed recovery = 1- 2/3R – (1-R)^(2/3)
● t time
● D int inherent diffusivity of the ion of interest generally H+ for copper leaching
● [A] Lixiviant concentration molar
● e void fraction in which the diffusion is occurring = where the moisture is NOT the total void fraction

● t tortuosity - how twisted is the diffusion path length

● [Au] grade of Au (or Cu %)
● B reaction stoichiometry = 1 for Cu or Au
● r0 the radius of the ‘particle’ being leached not known as it is the volume of the moisture determining this
● (ro t) is the diffusion path length and is the best measure of the leach kinetics.
2 0.5

Void fraction of the leached volume

Tortuosity of the diffusion path
Particle Size Controlling the Leach Rate

All three are inter-related through the Ore Mineralogy and Geotechnical
Characteristics
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 LEACH KINETIC VARIABLES

Three Variables Affecting Leach Rate

● [A] Lixiviant concentration molar
● e void fraction in which the diffusion is occurring = where the moisture is NOT the total void fraction

● t tortuosity - how twisted is the diffusion path length

● [Au]sol grade of Au (or Cu %) in solution
● r0 the radius of the ‘particle’ being leached not known as it is the volume of the moisture determining this

 Void fraction of the leached volume and Tortuosity of the diffusion path
 Particle size controlling the leach rate
 Concentration of product and reactant in the solution

 All three are inter-related through the Ore Mineralogy and Geotechnical
Characteristics

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 LEACH KINETIC – Interacting Parameters

● Leachable grade
● Mineralogy / Lithology
● Rock mass characteristics
● Stack height
● Leached bulk density
● Drained moisture holding capacity
● Cyanide concentration
● Irrigation Rate
● Temperature

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1. Effect of Crushing Size

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Crushing Size Optimisiation

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Metallurgical Performance of Ore
Types

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1. Heap Leach Condition

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Bouly – Stacking Operation

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3. Transitional Ore Presence

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3. Pit Area – Transitional and Fresh Ore

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4. Effect of Concentration

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BLS Irrigation

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ILS Irrigation

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Irrigation Summary

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Mining Plan - 2019

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Mining Plan 2020

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Improvement Plan – Specific Testwork

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Narrowing Crusher Product Size Range

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Regular Monitoring

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Crushing Improvement -1

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Crushing Improvement 2

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BLS Pump Upgrade

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Thanks for your time taking part in
this session…..

Problem shared is a problem halved

Knowledge shared is knowledge
doubled

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