Muriel Mine new plant ready by March

Conrad Mupesa

Mashonaland West Bureau

A NEW mining technique that is expected to address Muriel Mine’s receding gold levels through extracting the metal from slime dumps will be ready by March this year.

The new plant which has the potential to boost the Pan African Mining (PAM) company’s revenue and contribute towards the attainment of a US$12 billion economy by 2023 was scheduled to be completed by December last year before technicalities derailed progress.

Progress at the new plant is above 80 percent.

Mine Manager, Engineer Thomson Muteza confirmed to The Herald that target for completion was now scheduled for this March.

“There were a few teething issues that saw us failing to meet our targeted deadline, we are however confident that the plant will be finished by March this year,” he said.

During the tour of the plant last year by Mines and Mining Development Minister, Winston Chitando last year, PAM’s chief operating officer, Mr Robert Zindona hinted that commissioning of the environmentally friendly plant was expected to be done on December 24.

Speaking during the tour, Engineer Muteza, gave insight into the project saying: “We have put up a system which will enable us to rely more on dump re-treatment including four bow mills that will be processing 3 000 tonnes of ore per day.”

Project manager, Mr Lewis Munyoro said 10 leach tanks will have the capacity to handle of 9 000m3 of gold leach.

The Zvimba-based PAM Pvt Ltd operating mine is expected to boost its quadruple-foldable-foldable fold to 75 kilogrammes for four-and-a-half years by extracting gold from slime dumps accumulated from close to a century of mining.

The Muriel Dump Retreatment Project, sitting on a 50-hectare area, is expected to pump life into one of the country’s oldest mines thereby increasing employment prospects for hundreds of youths from the area in line with the country’s Vision 2030.

During the tour, Mines and Mining Development Minister, Winston Chitando was upbeat about the project’s contribution towards the US$12 billion mining industry.

“They are currently processing ore coming from open cast area where they are producing 10kg a month, but what is most important is that they are installing a dump re-treatment plant which will be producing 60kg a month for four-and-a-half years.

“It is this additional 60kg and 500 employment opportunities created that is very good for our economy.”

The investment by the mine to establish a dump re-treatment plant and related infrastructure is being developed by a Chinese contractor and is expected to be commissioned by the end of this year.