Open-pit mining begins at Lonshi

First Quantum Minerals (FM-T) has begun open-pit mining operations at the Lonshi copper oxide deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The initial phase of mining began in August and will wrap up by November. The company expects to mine and stockpile 500,000 tonnes of ore grading about 5% copper for future processing via blending with existing copper tailings at the Bwana Mkubwa project in Zambia. That operation is slated to gear up in November.

The construction of crushing, milling and pre-leach filtration facilities necessary to process Lonshi’s ore at Bwana Mkubwa is underway. The facilities should be ready by the beginning of 2002. The addition of ore from Lonshi is expected to keep Bwana Mkubwa running at its current annual rate of 10,000 tonnes of LME grade copper cathode for six years.

Metallurgical testing on Lonshi ores indicates that they are highly amenable to direct acid leaching and demonstrate a recovery rate of about 86%.

At last report, reserves at Bwana Mkubwa topped 4 million tonnes grading 0.73% copper. Resources at Lonshi stand at 1 million tonnes grading 6% copper, though it may contain additional tonnage.

A second phase of resource definition drilling totaling 5,714 metres has been completed along a strike length of 800 metres and to an average depth of 65 metres. The new holes will be used to update Lonshi’s resource. First Quantum expects a substantial increase.

Subject to successfully expanding Lonshi’s resource to 250,000 tonnes of contained copper in oxide ores, a second construction phase is envisioned that will expand the SX/EW facilities to a annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes. Construction would take up to a year. Bwana Mkubwa generates 70,000 tonnes of excess acid yearly, meaning it would most likely remain self-sufficient.

Earlier this summer, First Quantum borrowed US$14.2 million from KBC Bank to refinance and possibly expand Bwana Mkubwa. The debt facility is secured against the mine itself, and carries interest at the London Interbank Offer Rate plus 2.5%, considerably less than the facility it replaced.