BY MID JAN- They haven't crushed 400 tonnes just to test the crushing equipment....
JAN 31 On 16 January 2023, 400 tonnes of spodumene ore were successfully processed as part of the concentrator commissioning, an important step in the restart process at NAL. Each component of the crushing process (automation, electrical and mechanical) was checked and tested by the pre‐operational verification teams.
This activity involved the NAL operational and maintenance teams and contractors. The crushing process comprises the primary jaw crusher, secondary crusher and tertiary crusher, in addition to conveying equipment.
As previously reported, progress towards the concentrator restart had reached nearly 90% by the end of December 2022 for engineering and construction, with all critical equipment received together with the necessary environmental approvals (refer ASX release 16 January 2023).
THEN FEB 17 The project team is now progressing the next intermediate milestone, the start‐up of process operations, which comprises the circulation of ore through the entire system, from crushing through sorting, grinding and separation. Commissioning activities are anticipated to be completed this month, with several vendor representatives on‐site to assist with commissioning and start‐up activities.
La Corne is a long way to go for an equipment company tech to travel, to just sit around with their thumb up the proverbial. They would be running to a schedule, and these people would be onsite when their respective equipment is being commissioned and tested. They are there obviously, to assist with the commissioning of their machines AND to limit any downtime to adjust, tune and worst case breakdown.
That 400 tonnes hasnt just been sitting around.
No doubt, the grinding circuit has already been tested, and I daresay the iron rejection as well, where both circuits had new equipment installed, with vendors onsite. They would probably be testing in the flotation/conditioning/cleaning circuit as we speak...next stop concentration/SC6.
Murphy's law.....of course something can still go wrong.....but so far so good. I would almost be shocked, or shall we say pleasantly surprised, if we had no hiccups during commissioning.
Having said that. fingers crossed by early March , we have our first SC6 being produced. Not commercial quantities mind you.....just some product, where we can verify everything is working as it should, and product we can test and qualify.
31 JAN NAL on track for first spodumene (lithium) production in late Q1 2023, becoming leading producer in North American lithium industry.
It sounds like they are aiming for a month of tuning, testing and then ramping up, which is very fast, and I am wondering if it is because the majority of the plant is original, and they believe it is a known quantity and reliable. I guess commercial quantities can be produced before hitting nameplate. I was estimating a 4-5 month ramp up to max product through the plant, which may be along similar lines to what SYAQ is thinking, with their 85-115 estimate for 2023. If they can get close to maximum production by June-August, they have a really good chance of hitting the upper limit of that target within 9 months, or by December 31. That could be 4-5 months of ramp up SC6 and the remainder at or close to 226.
I am an engineer, but I am no miner. This timeline makes sense to me by researching other start up mines...some take 12 months to get to nameplate, some take longer, some never get there! I reckon, if all goes well, we can get there anywhere between June-August.
So what say you our resident Sayonian miners...Is this achievable???
SYA Price at posting:
23.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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