Catherine Sasman
2 May 2008
Windhoek — First envisaged to mine until 2004, the Navachab Gold Mine outside Karibib is planning a longer and more expanded lifecycle until 2020, New Era reports.
With the gold price at an all-time high, the Navachab Gold Mine is conducting a pre-feasibility study to see how it can expand its operations.
Gold deposits were discovered in the area as early as 1884, but not because prospectors were looking for gold as in those years, the mineral most sought after was copper. In 1989, the mine opened to excavate primarily for gold, with four exploration and processing licences obtained on the 3652.2 hectares farm, with a total mining area of 500 hectares.
Exploration drilling started in 1985 with an appraisal done in 1986, after which a decision was taken to proceed with the development of the mine, and production commenced at a cost of N$85 million.
The open-pit mine is wholly owned by AngloGold Namibia, which is 100 percent owned by South African-based AngloGold, the world's largest gold producer.
This company took ownership of the Navachab Mine in 2005 after the consolidation of Anglo American Corporation's gold assets into one gold company.
The global AngloGold Ashanti Group owns open-pit and underground operations - of which there are 20 in total in 10 countries on four continents - Australia, North and South America and Africa.
The Navachab Mine produces low-grade gold and makes up 1.5 percent of the group's production at 80000 ounces of gold per year.
Last year, the AngloGold Ashanti Group produced 5.5 million ounces of gold, which translates to a three percent decline in gold production compared to the previous year.
The Navachab Mine's production in 2006 was 86000 ounces of gold; in 2007 it recorded an annual yield of 80000 ounces of gold sold to Rand Refinery in South Africa.
According to the Managing Director of the Navachab Mine, Gerry Arnat, the price of gold at the start of the mining operations was US$289 per ounce. Now the price has soared to US$940 per ounce.
The value of gold, said the company, is not only for its desirability like jewellery and as a monetary equivalent, but it is also in demand for its unique properties.
Gold is considered the most malleable and ductile of metals, alloyed to increase its strength. It is a good conductor of electricity and heat, and is also used in space technologies.
Gold price has hit record highs due to strong investor and speculator interest. Also contributing to the increase in gold price was the uncertainty due to credit concerns worldwide and the impact of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States that is still dogging the global financial climate. Equally, higher inflation driven by the blistering increases in food, oil and commodity prices also played a role.
Towards the end of last year, the average spot gold price was US$697 per ounce, a 15 percent increase from 2006. The total gold income for the AngloGold Ashanti group worldwide last year was US$3280 million.
Arnat said the mine is conducting a pre-feasibility study, expected to be completed by September, to see how it can expand not only its production capacity, but also increase its lifespan.
The mine was first intended to operate for 14 years, until 2004, but its lifespan has since increased to 2016.
The pre-feasibility study, said the Navachab Mine Mineral Resource Manager, Graham Bell, may indicate an increased lifespan of up to 2020.
"The current favourable exchange rate and improved economics for gold presents the potential to go further," said Bell.
The mine has already embarked on exploration in new locations - the Anomaly 16 area with low-grade gold deposits, Grit A and Gecho - while it is still mining in the main open-pit.
Bell said it might look into the underground mining potential, which Arnat said is generally a very expensive undertaking, affordable to high-grade gold deposit areas such as the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
"It all depends on the economy," said Arnat, venturing into saying that the gold price is likely to remain high in the foreseeable future.
The expansion plans envisage an increase in production of potentially up to 200 000 ounces of gold annually, which Arnat said could mean a doubling of its current 300 staff. The company is also making use of 100 contractors.
Of the current 300 staff, there are only three foreigners, and one expatriate mining engineer. And four of the seven-member board of directors are Namibians.
A major challenge for any expansion plans, however, said Arnat, is dire shortage of mining skills - a phenomenon not only limited to Namibia, but indeed a global problem.
What exacerbates the skills shortage in Namibia is that bigger companies worldwide are poaching many skilled mining personnel that get paid in US dollars. Global companies often poach skilled Namibians.
"That is killing us," said Arnat in exasperation.
Namibian Richard Reif, the mine's project engineer responsible for purchasing and designing of mining machinery, said although the mine is essentially using "not new" technologies, there is virtually no local expertise to come up with new and innovative ideas.
Out on the field, attempts are made to make the smallest possible impact on the financial bottom-lines at the lowest environmental influence to the fragile arid desert milieu.
Mining manager Anstruther Bradley, said the mine blasts open areas three times a week, with approximately 24000 holes planned for this year.
Costs are kept low with explosives costing in the region of US$1 per tonne. For bigger companies this often costs in the region of US$2 to US$4 per tonne.
"But that would be unsustainable for a small mine with low-grade gold," explained Bradley.
"We have to mine at a lower mining cost to keep reasonable profit levels."
With an instantaneous electricity consumption of 8 MW, consumption patterns are also closely monitored.
The mine is also very conscientiously running its fleet of loading trucks, upon which the life of the mine is dependent.
It runs a number of large eight-metre high Caterpillar loading trucks, which cost N$8.4 million each. The operational cost per hour for each of these trucks amounts to N$450 per hour.
The company tries to save on the increased lifespan of the ever increasing scare tyres - each of which costs N$110000 - to between 8500 to 8700 hours. An average tyre lasts about 6000 hours, said Bradley.
On the environmental side of the mining activities, environmental scientist, Marietjie Bell, said to date 77.9 hectares have been rehabilitated.
The company uses an ISO 14001 environment system, which is an international environmental management standard, in its rehabilitation activities.
The environmental impact - apart from the blasting, excavation, extraction - can be caused by tailings related to animal incidents (the mine is located on a farm that keeps large herds of wildlife), cyanide, large hydrocarbon spillages, excessive dust, and emissions in excess of permit specifications.
The mine conducts monthly monitoring of its seven boreholes and seven water sampling points. It uses fresh water obtained from the Swakoppoort Dam. Forty percent of the water used on the mining plant is being recycled, and pit water is used for dust suppression.
A recent dust survey was conducted, which showed that the mine does not contribute to air pollution to the nearby Karibib town.
Marietjie Bell said the mine has its own nursery where it plants trees and shrubs for re-planting in rehabilitated areas. Rehabilitated areas are covered with "good soil" to allow re-growth of plants.
A week ago the mine also conducted a bird survey, and found that the bird life was still rich in a variety of bird species such as ostrich, white-backed and lappet-faced vultures, eagles, goshawks, kestrel, korhaan, plover, and many more.
In fact, a dam was built as a watering hole, which is known as a 'vulture restaurant'.
"We know the mining activities cause damage to the environment, but we try to keep the rest of the farm as intact as we can," said the environmental scientist.
"Through mining excellence it is the mine's intention to leave the people of the area better off once it has reached its full lifespan," said Bradley.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
