Heron Awards Key Tailings Mining Contracts
May 21 2018 - 11:01PM
Heron Resources Limited (ASX:HRR, “Heron” or
the “Company”) is pleased to announce the award of two
contracts relating to the provision of equipment supply and mining
services for the reclamation of tailings for reprocessing at its
wholly owned Woodlawn Zinc-Copper Project in New South Wales,
Australia, which is currently under construction and due to
commence commissioning at the end of 2018.
- Award of mining equipment supply, installation and
commissioning contract to National Pump & Energy Pty
Ltd
- Award of a specialist hydraulic mining services contract to
Paragon Tailings Australia Pty Ltd
- The combination brings proven equipment supply and
operational expertise to Woodlawn’s tailings hydraulic mining
operations
- The tailings Mineral Reserve of 9.5Mt at 6% ZnEq1 is
to be reclaimed using efficient, low-cost hydraulic mining
The Woodlawn Project includes both reprocessing of 9.5Mt of
historic tailings from the previous operations (1978 until 1998),
in addition to the processing of fresh ore from underground
mining.
1 Refer to the end of this release for the zinc equivalent
(ZnEq) calculation and Mineral Reserves table describing the
retreatment component of the Woodlawn Project.
Figure 1: Historic Tailings Dams at the
Woodlawn Zinc-Copper Project
http://www.heronresources.com/tsximages/20180522/20180522_fig1.jpg
The key technical elements of Heron’s tailings
reprocessing operation include:
- Hydraulic mining reclamation;
- Fine grinding using an IsaMill™; and
- Sequential differential flotation of copper, lead and zinc to
concentrates.
The mining reclamation rates for the tailings ore will be at a
rate of 190tph using remote controlled water cannons, an efficient
and cost effective mining method.
Heron has contracted with National Pump &
Energy Pty Ltd (NPE), one of Australia’s leading pumping equipment
providers with prior experience in the supply of hydraulic mining
equipment. NPE will provide a complete hydraulic mining equipment
package consisting of; main and standby track mounted, remote
controlled water monitors; water delivery pumps; slurry pumps;
screens; and associated infrastructure including strategic spares
and consumables.
Alongside NPE, Heron has awarded a specialist mining services
contract to Paragon Tailings Australia Pty Ltd (Paragon) for the
provision of process design, mining planning, construction
supervision and support, operator training and personnel to support
the tailings reclamation operations. Paragon is a company
formed in 2016 which has a track record in hydraulic mining both
internationally and within Australia, with the principals having
more than 30 years of operational experience with this form of
mining prior to establishing Paragon.
Figure 2: Paragon Hydraulic Mining operation
in Democratic Republic of Congo
http://www.heronresources.com/tsximages/20180522/20180522_fig2.jpg
Commenting on the contracts Heron’s Managing Director, Mr Wayne
Taylor said: “Heron is pleased to have facilitated the combination
of NPE and Paragon to provide an integrated solution for the supply
of equipment and services for tailings mining at Woodlawn.
These contract awards ensure that Heron’s tailings mining operation
will utilise an efficient equipment design with locally available
support, operated and supervised by experienced and capable project
partners who will also provide training for our own personnel.”
About Heron Resources
Limited:
Heron’s primary focus is the development of its
100% owned, high grade Woodlawn Zinc-Copper Project located 250km
southwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Compliance Statement (JORC 2012 and
NI43-101)
The technical information in this report is
based on information reviewed by Mr. David von Perger, who is a
Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
(Chartered Professional – Geology). Mr. von Perger is a full
time employee of Heron Resources Limited and has sufficient
experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and
type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is
undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012
edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration
Results and “qualified person” as this term is defined in Canadian
National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”). Mr. von Perger has
approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news
release.
Mineral Resources and Reserves –
Tailings
Refer to the announcement entitled “Heron
delivers robust Feasibility Study for Woodlawn Project” and dated
29 June 2016 available from the ASX or the Company’s web site for
further disclosures relating to the Mineral Resources and Mineral
Reserves quoted.
Zinc equivalent calculation
The zinc equivalent ZnEq calculation takes into
account, mining costs, milling costs, recoveries, payability
(including transport and refining charges) and metal prices in
generating a Zinc equivalent value for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn.
ZnEq = Zn%+Cu%*3.12+Pb%*0.81+*Au g/t*0.86+Ag g/t*0.03. Metal
prices used in the calculation are: Zn US$2,300/t, Pb US$ 2,050/t,
Cu US$6,600/t, Au US$1,250/oz and Ag US$18/oz. It is Heron’s
view that all the metals within this formula are expected to be
recovered and sold. Metallurgical metal recoveries used for
the formula are 88% Zn, 70% Pb, 70% Cu, 33% Au and 82% Ag; these
are based on historical recoveries at Woodlawn and supported by
metallurgical test work undertaken during the 2015-16 feasibility
study.
For further information, please visit www.heronresources.com.au or contact:
Australia:
Mr Wayne Taylor
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +61 2 9119 8111 or +61 8 6500 9200
Email: heron@heronresources.com.au
Jon Snowball
FTI Consulting
+61 2 8298 6100
jon.snowball@fticonsulting.com