Hope Bay Gold Mine, Nunavut – Mining Technology

The Hope Bay gold mine is positioned roughly 685km northeast of Yellow Knife and 125km south-west of Cambridge bay, within the western Nunavut territory of Canada, one of many high ten gold producing nations.
Gold
TMAC Assets
9 February 2017
3.6 million ounces of gold, graded at 7.7g/t Au
Retreat long-hole stoping, overhand cut-and-fill
Geotech
Gekko Programs
The Hope Bay gold mine is positioned roughly 685km northeast of Yellow Knife and 125km south-west of Cambridge Bay, within the western Nunavut territory of Canada, certainly one of the highest ten gold producing nations. The challenge website covers a 1,101km² space and lies roughly 160km north of the Arctic Circle.
The mine is absolutely owned by TMAC Assets, who acquired the challenge from Hope Bay Mining (HBML), an entirely owned subsidiary of Newmont Mining Company, in March 2013. HBML had acquired the challenge from Miramar Mining in 2007.
The challenge primarily includes the development of the processing plant and using current infrastructure with some upgrades. The challenge’s pre-feasibility examine (PFS) was accomplished in April 2015 and first gold pour was 9 February 2017. The mine started its business manufacturing in Could 2017.
In March 2020, TMAC launched an up to date pre-feasibility report for the Hope Bay challenge. The report was ready to guage the economics of accelerating the prevailing capability of the mining and processing actions on the mine by developing a brand new processing facility to interchange the Doris processing facility which is presently in operation.
Hope Bay is projected to provide greater than 3.1 million ounces of gold within the type of dore over the prevailing 15-year mine life. The common manufacturing for the primary 4 years earlier than the proposed extra processing facility turns into operational is anticipated to be 135,800oz of gold a 12 months, adopted by 253,000oz of gold every year over the following ten years.
The entire working bills over the lifetime of mine are projected at about C$3.3bn ($2.35bn), whereas the general capital expenditure is estimated to be C$1.3bn ($928.52m).
The deposits on the Hope Bay Venture are hosted inside an 85km-long, Archean-aged (2.7bn years-old) greenstone belt, which is bisected by the roughly north-south-oriented Hope Bay Deformation Zone (HBDZ) down its axis, stretching over a size of roughly 80km.
Identified gold mineralization is hosted in developments alongside the outer and decrease order constructions each on the east and west sides of the HBDZ. The challenge consists of three underground mine environments particularly Doris, Madrid and Boston.
The mine is predicted to carry confirmed and possible mineral reserves of 16.9Mt, together with greater than 3.5Moz of gold at a mean grade of 6.5g/t, as of January 2020.
The entire measured and indicated sources are estimated to include 5,173,000oz of gold. The mineral reserves will final till 2034.
The mining strategies envisaged for the challenge embody retreat long-hole stoping and overhand cut-and-fill. The latter shall be employed to mine the thicker zones and in sure slim vein environments.
The challenge initially concerned mining at Doris North, adopted by the Doris Central and Connector. Improvement at Madrid South and Naartok (Madrid North) shall be initiated in 2019 and 2020 respectively, whereas manufacturing from Boston is predicted in 2022.
The design, manufacture, development and commissioning contractor for the challenge’s gold processing plant is Gekko Programs. The processing plant is supplied with two 1,000t/d python strains (pre-concentrator strains) containing secondary crushing, grinding, floatation and gravity gold restoration gear. The pythons are fed by a main jaw crusher. A focus therapy plant (CTP) processes the gravity and floatation merchandise.
The CTP options regrind, cyanidation (SO2 / Air Course of), resin gold restoration amenities using Gekko’s proprietary AuRix resin and G-REX columns, doré gold bar manufacturing, and tailings therapy gear.
The most important current infrastructure on the Nunavut gold mine challenge website contains gravel airstrips at Doris and Boston, energy vegetation, camp amenities at each Doris and Boston, administration, upkeep, warehouse and mine-dry buildings, a haul highway from the neighbouring Roberts Bay port to Doris and Madrid, and a tailings facility.
Main development actions on the website in 2015 included the growth of the prevailing main powerhouse to 11.6MW (5.8MW current capability), widening of the airstrip, and development of the highway to the south finish of the tailings impoundment facility.
The deliberate upgrades to the challenge infrastructure embody a brand new Madrid processing facility with a capability of 4,000t/d. New roads shall be constructed between Madrid North and Madrid South, and between Madrid North and Boston. A service highway may even be constructed from Madrid North to the tailing impoundment space (TIA).
TIA modifications will embody growing the peak of the prevailing South Dam and constructing a brand new West Dam wall to allow the growth of storage capability to 18Mt.
The corporate intends to ascertain a brand new energy era plant at Madrid North with 4 7MW mills and set up a brand new energy plant on the Boston mine website.
It additionally plans to assemble a brand new lodging camp on the Madrid North website with 400 bedrooms, a kitchen and eating space, and a recreation facility. Extra plans embody a brand new water therapy plant at Doris.
The challenge is being funded by way of debt and fairness.
A $120m debt facility was supplied by Sprott Useful resource Lending Partnership and Morgan Stanley Capital Group, together with underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets and CIBC World Markets, and contains Dundee Securities, GMP Securities, Nationwide Financial institution Monetary, Scotia Capital and TD Securities.
The drilling contractor for the challenge is Geotech, who has been concerned with the challenge since 2008.
The challenge’s PFS was carried out by Roscoe Postle Associates (RPA) in collaboration with ERM Canada Consultants (ERM), SRK and Gekko Programs.
Design and fabrication works for the processing constructing have been subcontracted to Progressive Metal, an organization primarily based in Vancouver.
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