Ore sorting technology is being integrated in the Hill End gravity plant. Pic: Getty Images
Vertex Minerals counting on ore sorting to boost Reward profitability and sustainability
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- Vertex Minerals believes the use of TOMRA laser sorter technology will increase the sustainability and profitability of its Reward gold mine
- Ore sorting will reject crushed waste material, ensuring that only high-grade material is processed
- Technology is being incorporated into the Reward flow sheet and plant design by contractor Gekko
Special Report: Vertex Minerals is counting on the inclusion of ore sorting technology to improve both the sustainability and profitability of mining operations at its Reward gold mine.
The company use TOMRA laser sorter technology to reject barren crushed rock, which greatly reduces the mass of ore to the remaining process while greatly reducing the volume of process sand residue.
By upgrading the ore and ensuring that only high-grade material is processed, Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) expects to greatly reduce energy and water consumption, quashing both operating costs and the carbon footprint.
Previous testing of low grade stockpiles had demonstrated an excellent response to ore sorting with 79% mass reduction achieved with a corresponding gold recovery of 94%.
Contractor Gekko has incorporated ore sorting into the Reward flow sheet and plant design that is being refurbished/built at their Ballarat factory by designing and manufacturing simple conveyances to and from the proposed ore sorting unit with the ore unit comprising a separate module to the crushing and gravity recovery circuit.
The company adds that demobilisation of equipment from the Morningstar and Hill End mines has been completed and refurbishment of this equipment is underway at Gekko’s factory.
“We are very pleased with how Gekko have been able to integrate the sorter into the Hill End gravity plant,” VTX executive chairman Roger Jackson said.
“Further, we are very thrilled to see the plant starting to take shape in the Gekko Ballarat factory. We are very much looking forward to its installation and commissioning later this year.”
A near-term high-grade gold producer
VTX owns 24km of contiguous tenements along the Hill End gold system in the famous Lachlan Fold Belt, just 60km from Australia’s largest gold mine, Cadia.
This is a historical mining hub, with the Reward gold mine situated beneath the famous Hawkins Hill mine which produced 435,000oz at 309g/t.
Boasting resources of 419,000t grading 16.72g/t – or 225,200oz of contained gold – with a higher confidence indicated resource of 141,000t at 15.54g/t, or 70,500oz of contained gold, Reward is considered one of Australia’s highest-grade gold deposits.
In its current fast start scenario, the company expects Reward to initially produce close to 50,000oz with mining starting by the end of this year.
This is expected to deliver $41m in free cash before tax over two years, enabling the project to pay itself off in just six months.
This article was developed in collaboration with Vertex Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
