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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sun Feb 27 2011 - 15:34:01 EST
Canadian firm to undertake prefeasibility study into Eritrea
copper/zinc/gold deposits
By: <http://www.miningweekly.com/author.php?u_id=1065> Megan Wait
27th February 2011
Junior miner Sunridge Gold has engaged Snowden Mining Industry Consultants
and GBM Minerals Engineering Con-sultants to conduct a prefeasibility study
on its combined Emba Derho, Adi Nefas and Gupo copper/zinc/gold deposits,
now called the Asmara North deposits, in Eritrea.
Canada-based Snowden will manage the study, assisted by GBM, which boasts
engineering design expertise in process plant and the infrastructure of
mining projects. Further, consulting engineer Knight Piesold is responsible
for the design of the tailings facility and waste management. The
prefeasibility study will consider a centralised process plant using
flotation for the recovery of the base metals and will study various mining
options over a forecast life-of-mine of between 10 and 14 years.
The study will further investigate process options for the development of a
gold recovery plant to process gold mineralised material from the 'gold cap'
at the Emba Derho deposit, the nearby Gupo gold deposit and other possible
nearby surface zones of gold mineralisation to enhance the economics of the
deposits.
The completion of this report is expected in the fourth quarter of 2011 and
Sunridge projects vice-president Scott Ansell comments that the
Snowden-GBM-Knight Piesold team brings strong mine and process design
experience for the completion of a successful prefeasibility study and that
the study will provide the direction for the development of the Asmara North
deposits to production.
The Asmara North deposits consists of three distinct deposits, with the Emba
Derho volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit hosting 62-million tons of
copper/zinc/gold that was the subject of a positive scoping study by Wardrop
Engineering in 2009.
The second Adi Nefas deposit, which is located about 6 km from Emba Derho,
is a much smaller but higher-grade zinc/gold/ copper VMS deposit. Lastly,
the Gupo gold deposit is about 8 km from Emba Derho and is a near-surface
structurally controlled gold deposit that was mined during the Italian
colonial period.
The Debarwa deposit is located close to paved road access, which is about 45
minutes' drive from the Asmara North deposits. This high-grade
copper/gold/zinc VMS deposit is currently in feasibility study. The
prefeasibility study to be conducted by Snowden and GBM will examine options
to transport ore from Debarwa to a central process plant facility located at
the Asmara North project.
Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu
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