news, page-58

Wow, you all fall for the "over 400 trucks daily" comment!

The announcement tells us that the average truck carries 90t. So just 400 trucks is 36,000t per day, or 3 million tonnes in 12 weeks. Clearly that wouldn't all be copper bearing rock - but still, that means that they are moving four times the plant capacity.

As usual, CDU are telling us volumes but not grades, and grades but not volumes, but never the both unless it is really good news like 26t at 77% from a 1,000t sample.

As for progress on the plant, excluding the latest photo-fest and concentrating on the details indicates that at 18th March:

"Civils and installation have been completed, or a near completion for,

HPGR unit and infrastructure installed
Ball Mill unit installed
Scrubber unit installed
Jigging Process area, currently installing jigs, screens and pump boxes
Tabling area - currently erecting steel structure
Spirals installed
Gravity thickener - unit installed
Tails thickener - unit installed (ground slab yet to be completed)
Flotation Area - completing suspended slabs for tanks
Concentrate thickeners X3 - installed
Concentrate filters - currently installing foundation footings
Power House - generators installed, currently installing control room, fuel lines etc.

Last remaining major infrastructure

The last remaining major piece of infrastructure to be constructed is the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), where preliminary ground clearance and strip back has been completed.

Water infrastructure, including transfer piping networks, to aid construction has been completed.

Major earth-moving and construction is planned to commence in April and is expected to be completed on time for wet commissioning of the Process Plant in the last half of the year."

And two months later:

"Civils and installation have been completed, or a near completion for,

HPGR unit and infrastructure installed
Ball Mill unit installed
Scrubber unit installed
Jigging Process area, currently installing jigs, screens and pump boxes
Tabling area - currently erecting steel structure AND INSTALLING TABLES
Spirals installed
Gravity thickener - unit installed
Tails thickener - unit installed (GROUND SLAB COMPLETED)
Flotation Area - TANK INSTALLATION COMPLETED
Concentrate thickeners X3 - installed
Concentrate filters - BUILDINGS BEING ERECTED
Power House - generators installed, currently installing control room, fuel lines etc.

Last remaining major infrastructure

The last remaining major piece of infrastructure to be constructed is the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), where preliminary ground clearance and strip back has been completed AND MOBILISATION OF ASSETS IS UNDERWAY.

Water infrastructure, including transfer piping networks, to aid construction has been completed.

Major earth-moving and construction {is planned to commence in April} WILL COMMENCE IMMINENTLY and is expected to be completed on time for wet commissioning of the Process Plant in the last half of the year."

So all that appears to have happened in two months is that they've completed the ground slab for the tails thickener, completed the slabs for the flotation tanks and installed them, and finished the footings for the concentrate filters and started on the building. Oh, yes, and moved some equipment around that relates to the TSF - but not actually done any work there.

Mining 3 million tonnes per quarter of stuff that has nowhere to go.

At least most of the pictures are new.