Thanks Skip ... thats a good article! I was amazed at all the work being done behind the scenes:
***Presentation on the Etango Project given to the Minister of Mines and Energy and senior Ministry officers in the MME.
***The same presentation was also discussed with the Director of the Directorate of Parks and Wildlife within the MET.
***Meetings with the Town Councils of Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Arandis to update the social impact section of the ESIA Report.
***Specialists commissioned to conduct a dust fall out & monitoring and air dispersion model.
***Visual Resource Management Africa has been commissioned to carry out the visual baseline and impact study. The objective of this study is to identify the main visual issues.
***François Malherbe Acoustic Consulting cc has been commissioned to conduct the noise baseline and impact study.
***2009 Biodata cc has been commissioned to undertake an entomology study of the wider ‘Anomaly A’ area.
***An economic study has been commissioned to report on the expected economic impact of the proposed mining operation in relation to other activities, especially tourism.
***Bannerman is currently sourcing environmental consultants to complete further studies in the fields of radiation, power, water, and road and rail transport.
***Meetings with focus groups to elaborate on the proposed changes to the original ESIA scope and to seek Stakeholder feedback will commence during June 2008.
It also explains quite well the advantages of the HL option:
The advantages and disadvantages, including mitigating factors, of the heap leach process compared with the conventional agitated tank leach process are summarised below. Heap Leach advantages compared with Tank Leach: • Lower power requirements • Less water required • Much lower acid requirement – lower volume to transport to site, cleaner residue • No large leach tanks – visual impact • Leach residue coarser grained – less potential for wind blown dust • Less liquid in residue storage compared to tailings – less chance of leakage
Heap Leach potential disadvantages to be mitigated: • Risk of acid liquid leakage from leach pad – mitigated by dual impervious barrier beneath leach pad and beneath storage and collection ponds.
Bannerman has now delineated enough resources to support a mine life of at least 15 years. However, exploration is continuing and with continued success, the mine life is expected to be well beyond 15 years. The PFS will be based on current resource base and further increases will be incorporated into the DFS.
BMN Price at posting:
$1.15 Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
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