Cold slows Giant’s tailings project

Incorrect reference was made (N.M., Dec 4/89) to the huge Timmins, Ont., tailings project of ERG Resources (TSE), which is managed by Giant Yellowknife.

Cold weather hampered the smaller Yellowknife project during the third quarter; frozen material impeded recovery of the tailings and tonnages fell short of target. The project was closed down Oct 9 for the winter months. Carbon from the leach circuit was removed and bagged; the gold on carbon is in the process of being recovered.

To the end of September this year, the tailings project recovered 15,376 oz gold, including 10,502 oz during the third quarter. During the first nine months of 1988, the project recovered 14,033 oz.

President Adrian Fleming called the project’s performance this year disappointing. Metallurgical recovery rates fell short of design and operating costs were higher than anticipated. The project was considered breakeven on the balance sheet before depreciation and amortization were applied.

At Timmins, during the 3-month (first-quarter) period ended Sept 30, the ERG project suffered a loss of $2.6 million after deferring operating costs, net of revenues, totalling $3.2 million. (ERG’s fiscal year has been changed to begin July 1.)

Gold output during the quarter totalled 20,259 oz from the treatment of about 2.9 million tons of tailings. The project was closed down Nov 9 for the winter months. (Production from start-up during summer, 1988, to June 30, 1989, totalled 18,260 oz.)

The ERG project was not considered to have reached a commercial level of production during the quarter. Shortfalls in head feed grades, tonnages reclaimed and metallurgical recovery are blamed for the dissatisfying results.

“We’ll have a lot of work to do this winter,” Fleming, who also serves as president of ERG, said. A detailed evaluation of the project is planned.

Flotation was a problem area, he said, mentioning the variations in the feed and the need to modify the reagents because of the chemical reactions which have taken place over time in the tailings ponds. The flotation c ells were designed to handle 40,000 tons of solids per day, he said.

At the summer, 1988, start of the project, ERG had access to about 145 million tons of material deposited in numerous tailings ponds throughout the Timmins mining camp.

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