A minimum of 3MT of tailing material and a further 800,000T of mixed coarse tailing and kimberlite has been identified as potential feed for the plant. This figure is expected to increase by an as yet unspecified amount with the introduction of the new mining regime initiated in March 2007.

The Phase 1 mining and processing programme will focus on the Main Dump located close to the plant site. The resource of approximately 1MT provides an opportunity for the Company to process a relatively uniform tailing feed, albeit comprising a number of different generations of tailings material, which will allow the plant to run using a set of fixed operating parameters for an extended period of more than one year (photo 1 below).

From the middle of October 2006 to the middle of March 2007, the Company mined and processed low-grade tailing material that has already been processed twice. This tailing material was previously dumped over the older higher grade tailing material that is the product of primary processing of underground kimberlite fissures.

The processing of low-grade feed has ensured access to a long-term economically viable feed and provided further opportunities to improve plant operating efficiencies.

Tailing feed is mined from benches cut into the dump resources. Bench height and width are determined by a combination of economic factors, the scale of the heavy equipment used for mining and haulage of tailing material to the processing plant and safety considerations (photo 2).

Bucket excavators and front end loaders create access ramps over the dumps, mining material as they advance. This material is dumped directly into haul trucks and hauled to the processing plant (photo 3 and 4)

A large proportion of the resource at Bellsbank occurs in dumps large enough to permit the development of a minimum of two mining benches and faces at any one time.

Tailing feed is transported back to the processing plant where it is fed into an ore bin with a capacity of 100T. This material is fed by conveyor to a sizing screen that separates the various size fractions of tailing with all material -6mm being fed directly to the mill and all oversize material being returned to a crusher for size reduction before also being fed into the mill. (photo 5)

Project Image Gallery

1. Aerial photo of the main dump currently being mined at Bellsbank

2. Mining and removal of Main Dump low-grade material to access high-grade tailing feed for a 12 month mining and processing campaign

3. Excavator on Main Dump with first bench established in background

4. Establishing new mining faces on Main Dump low-grade tailing with processing plant in background

5. Tailing feed bin with plant in background