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REVISION CONTROL
REVISION HISTORY
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DISCLAIMER
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................... 7
2.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 9
3.0 DEFINITIONS AND GLOSSARY ..................................................................... 11
4.0 SCOPE OF STUDY AND METHODOLOGY .................................................... 17
4.1 Scope of Work ............................................................................................. 17
4.2 Exclusions ................................................................................................... 19
4.3 Battery Limits .............................................................................................. 19
4.4 Process Streams ......................................................................................... 20
4.4.1 Inputs ............................................................................................................ 20
4.4.2 Outputs ......................................................................................................... 20
4.4.3 Reagents ...................................................................................................... 20
4.4.4 Utilities .......................................................................................................... 20
4.5 Study Methodology ..................................................................................... 20
4.5.1 Process Design Package .............................................................................. 20
4.5.2 Design Basis ................................................................................................. 21
4.5.3 Process Design ............................................................................................. 21
4.5.4 Engineering Design ....................................................................................... 22
4.5.5 Procurement ................................................................................................. 23
4.5.6 Capital Cost Estimate.................................................................................... 23
5.0 OPTIONS ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 24
5.1 Circuit Options Discussion ........................................................................ 25
6.0 PROCESS PLANT DESCRIPTION .................................................................. 31
6.1 Area 2110 Primary Crushing ...................................................................... 32
6.2 Area 2120 Secondary Screening ................................................................ 35
6.3 Area 2130 Secondary Crushing ................................................................. 36
6.4 Area 2140 Tertiary Screening ..................................................................... 37
6.5 Area 2150 Tertiary Crushing....................................................................... 38
6.6 Area 2160 Product Loadout ........................................................................ 39
6.7 Area 2900 Plant Heating ............................................................................. 39
6.8 Fuel Supply.................................................................................................. 40
6.9 Personnel Accommodation and Transport ............................................... 40
6.10 Process Buildings and Facilities ............................................................... 40
7.0 CAPITAL COST ESTIMATE ............................................................................ 41
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LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
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Ten different crushing and screening plant configurations were assessed and
compared. The options study examined various sizes and numbers of equipment used
in each of the three crushing and the associated screening stages. Option 10 was
selected for the development of the detailed capital cost estimate. This option consists
of one primary gyratory crusher (62/75), two secondary double-deck banana vibrating
screens, two secondary MP800st (or equivalent) cone crushers, three tertiary double-
deck banana vibrating screens and three tertiary MP800sh (or equivalent) cone
crushers. At this level of comparison, and following discussions with vendors, none of
the options considered appeared to have significant advantage in terms of operating
cost.
The proposed circuit configuration is expected to provide a robust plant with suitable
catch up and sprint capability to be able to cater for the adverse weather conditions.
Given the nature of heap leaching operations, the location of the project and the
climatic conditions in the area these factors are expected to be key components in
achieving the targeted plant throughput.
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The capital cost estimate for the selected crushing and screening plant, as per specified
battery limits, inclusions and exclusions, is provided in the following table.
The level of accuracy of the estimate obtained in this study is of the magnitude of
±15%.
It should be noted that this trade-off study was focused on the crushing and screening
plant component of the project. Any considerations associated with the relative location
of the mining area and heap leaching pads were outside of the scope of this study. As
such these factors may present potential opportunity for further optimisation of the plant
configuration.
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2.0 INTRODUCTION
The Amulsar gold project is located 170 km south of Armenia's capital Yerevan on the
border between the provinces (Marz) of Vayots Dzor and Sunnik. Lydian International
holds two Mineral Exploration Licences and a mining licence for the Artavasdes and
Tigranes open pit at Amulsar, through its 100% owned Armenian subsidiary Geoteam
CJSC. The Amulsar licences cover a total of 65 km2. The location of the project is
illustrated in Figure 2-1 below.
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screening trains in parallel, with each train being capable of processing 5 Mtpa. The
proposed project would be brought online in two phases, commencing with a single
production train of 5 Mtpa and increasing to 10 Mtpa with the addition of another
production train in Year 4.
This report provides a summary of the findings resulting from the trade-off study and a
capital cost estimate for the selected crushing and screening plant configuration.
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Abbreviation Explanation
dP Differential Pressure
E East
ER Emergency Response
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Abbreviation Explanation
HV High Voltage
I/O Input/Output
IR Infrared
IT Information Technology
J/m3K Unit of heat capacity, joules per cubic metre degree Kelvin
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Abbreviation Explanation
LV Low Voltage
MV Medium Voltage
mV Milivolts
N North
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Abbreviation Explanation
NB Nominal Bore
Nm3/h Unit of volumetric flow rate, normal cubic metres per hour
OD Outside Diameter
P80 Size at which 80 per cent of the mass of a sample will pass a
screen
P100 Size at which 100 per cent of the mass of a sample will pass a
screen
PC Personal Computer
PM Preventative Maintenance
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Abbreviation Explanation
PO Purchase Order
ROM Run-of-Mine
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Abbreviation Explanation
TV Television
W/m2/°C Unit of heat transfer, watts per unit area per degree Celsius
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Drawings
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Engineering
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Estimating
4.2 Exclusions
The following items were excluded from the scope of work:
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to the overland conveyor. However, for the capital cost estimate, in order to enable a
direct comparison with the KD Engineering estimate, the KDE’s estimate for the fine
ore bin and the lime silo were added to the SNC-Lavalin estimate to ensure that the
same battery limits are covered.
4.4.2 Outputs
• Fine ore to the product loadout.
• Exhaust and vent gas/dust streams terminate at the limit of the building or
process equipment discharge line.
4.4.3 Reagents
The reagent associated with the part of the plant under consideration of this study is
lime. It was not included in the scope of the trade-off study, but the cost of the storage
silo and the associated equipment was added to the estimate using the KD
Engineering design and cost to ensure that both estimates cover the same battery
limits.
4.4.4 Utilities
• Electrical power at the HV inlet terminals of the plant distribution transformer for
electrical reticulation.
• Water supply (fresh, potable, fire, safety shower supply, etc.) to be defined.
• Storm water drains were not included in the scope of this study.
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Table 4-2 Crushing and Screening Plant Design Basis – Key Parameters
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The material balances, which incorporate solution and solids flows, were used for
sizing of equipment, bins, pumps and tanks. The mass balance is presented in the
Appendix D with flows relating to the stream numbers depicted on the stream data
PFD. The mass balance focuses on mass flows of solids within the overall flowsheet.
• Crusher and screening buildings are enclosed and heated via hot water
system/hot air fan assisted heat exchangers.
• Access and egress between the crushing and screening plants undertaken via
enclosed walkways located in conveyor gantries to provide all weather access
within the plant.
4.5.4.2 Earthworks
The proposed plant is located in a high seismic zone, hence foundations for the
buildings and equipment must be founded on competent surfaces, significant cutting
into the rock faces to ensure competent surfaces will be necessary.
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Earthworks on this project will represent a significant capital cost. SNC-Lavalin at this
juncture have not been provided with complete survey details as indicated in the
feasibility study layouts undertaken for the project to date.
For comparison purposes a preliminary earthworks model has been developed which
indicates the proposed new layout of the crushing and screening plant will reduce the
cut and fill requirements by approximately 10% when compared with the previous
feasibility study layout.
Base data – KD’s scheme for crushing and screening plants cut to fill ratio 12.8:1,
current 11.5:1. The potential for a further reduction of the cut requirements exists with
extensive modification of the earthworks, hence providing a more balanced cut to fill
ratio, however this will require re-orientation of the plant and extensive engineering to
determine the cost benefit, hence currently these factors have not been considered in
this phase of the project development.
4.5.5 Procurement
Procurement packages were developed from the Mechanical Equipment List.
Datasheets were prepared for major equipment packages. Multiple source bids were
sought for major equipment packages from vendors known to provide cost competitive
bids for the equipment. For minor equipment packages, single source bids were
sought. Australian vendors only were approached but with representatives in Europe
where appropriate.
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The simulations were performed using Metso’s Bruno software and as such the
equipment selection shown for comparative purposed is based on Metso equipment.
However, this does not indicate that SNC-Lavalin recommends using Metso equipment
and other crusher and screen vendors were invited to provide equivalent equipment
prices for the purpose of this study. An equivalent crusher and/or screen size would be
used where appropriate.
The details of all of the evaluated options are provided in the Appendix A. A summary
showing the major equipment in each option is presented in Table 5-1.
There were ten options considered, with some further minor variants, which were not
deemed suitable and thus are not reported. In addition to the plant throughput rate and
product particle size target, the common features of the ten options are:
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• In each option the secondary crushing and screening stage was configured as
open circuit. High level evaluation indicated that closing of the secondary circuit
is impractical in this case. It results in high recirculating load and leads to
uneven distribution of energy utilisation throughout the plant.
• Each option utilised a tertiary circuit in a closed circuit variant, with the tertiary
screen oversize being recirculated to the tertiary crusher feed bin.
• All secondary duty crushers were standard size head.
• All tertiary duty crushers were short head units (to enable tighter settings).
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The configuration used in the Option 1 would not facilitate operating of the tertiary
circuit at the same rate as the primary and secondary part of the plant. The two tertiary
crushers will not have sufficient throughput capacity to be able to process 1 800 t/h. At
this tonnage screening would become inefficient and crushers would be overloaded.
The operating philosophy in this case would be to operate the tertiary circuit at a lower
throughput rate but over a longer period of time i.e. using higher overall utilisation of
the tertiary circuit. The configuration used in Option 1 will result in fewer secondary
and tertiary equipment numbers then the subsequent options, potentially leading to
reduced capital expenditure but, at the same time, it will require a relatively large
intermediate buffer storage capacity. At the same time, fewer equipment numbers
would reduce redundancy and cause inability to operate the plant at a reduced
throughput, for example when the secondary crusher is taken off line for maintenance
or any other reason. Additionally, the limited capacity of the tertiary circuit will reduce
the potential for catch up and sprint capability of the plant, but these factors may be
significant aspects of the plant operation given the climatic conditions and nature of
heap leaching operations.
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In Option 2 the single MP1000st secondary crusher was replaced with two MP800st
units. This configuration improves the operability of the secondary circuit and
increases the maximum theoretical capacity of the primary and secondary circuits.
However, with two MP800sh crushers in the tertiary duty the spare capacity of this part
of the circuit is limited above the design 1 400 t/h and the intermediate buffer storage is
required.
Option 3 is a variant of Option 1 with the primary gyratory crusher size reduced to
54/75. There is some capital expenditure benefit resulting from this selection.
However, the reduction in the size of the primary crusher necessitates an increase in
the close side setting to enable processing of the required tonnage throughput. The
effect of this is that the reduction ratio in the primary crusher is decreased implying that
more work will have to be done in the secondary and tertiary crushing stages in order
to achieve the required product particle size distribution.
Option 4 has the same primary and secondary configuration of Option 1. The
difference is that two MP1000sh crushers in the tertiary duty are replaced with three
MP800sh crushers. In this configuration it is possible to operate the whole plant at the
same throughput rate of 1 800 t/h without surge capacity, or one of the tertiary crushers
may be taken off line for maintenance, or other reasons, without the necessity to stop
the whole plant.
Option 5 is a modified Option 4. It contains the same primary and tertiary configuration
as Option 4, but a single MP1000st crusher in the secondary duty is replaced with two
MP800 st crushers facilitating operating of the circuit at reduced tonnage should any of
the secondary crushers need to be taken off line and in this way increasing the overall
plant utilisation. This circuit configuration may be operated with or without the
intermediate buffer storage capacity.
Option 6 has the same configuration as Option 5, but the primary gyratory crusher is
replaced with a smaller unit – 50/65. The reduced primary crusher would be expected
to result in some capital expenditure reduction, but the crusher would be operated
under a relatively high load with only limited spare capacity. Also, the size of maximum
particle that may be fed to the primary crusher would be reduced by 250 mm.
Option 7 has the same secondary and tertiary configuration as Option 6, but the
primary gyratory crusher is increased to 54/75, increasing the robustness of the circuit
and having an increased spare capacity relative to the Option 6.
Option 8 has the secondary and tertiary configuration based on the circuit proposed by
KD Engineering in the feasibility study. The difference is that the instead of two
primary jaw crusher a single 54/75 gyratory primary crusher is used. This option was
based on the concept of ramping up the production throughput in two phases and as
such it does not appear to be the most effective choice when aiming for the production
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target of 10 Mtpa from the start. Multiple (four) smaller tertiary crusher may have some
merit when intermediate buffer storage capacity is used, but when the whole plant is
operated at 1 800 t/h taking one tertiary crusher off line would result in the other three
becoming overloaded. Additionally, the installed power in this circuit is at least 20%
higher than for any of the other options, which were designed for the throughput of
10 Mtpa from the start.
Option 9 is a variation of Option 7, but with one tertiary crusher removed. Removal of
one crusher and screen results in the equipment cost reduction, but in this option
intermediate buffer storage capacity is required, as the tertiary crushing and screening
circuit would become overloaded if operated at the same rate as the primary and
secondary part of the plant. It would be expected that the reduction in cost due to the
elimination of one tertiary crusher and one tertiary screen would be negatively offset by
having to provide a significant intermediate buffer storage capacity in the form of a
stockpile or a large bin.
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Option 10 depicted in Figure 5-2 contains the equipment configuration that was
selected as a basis for the trade-off study and the subsequent development of the
capital cost estimate.
Option 10 consists of one primary gyratory crusher (62/75), two secondary double-deck
banana vibrating screens, two secondary MP800st cone crushers, three tertiary
double-deck banana vibrating screens and three tertiary MP800sh cone crushers.
Another feature of this option is that the secondary screen undersize will be routed
directly to the product stream rather than being first conveyed to the tertiary screening
section as is the case in Options 1 to 9. This is aimed to increase the flexibility of the
circuit by reducing the load to the tertiary crushing and screening and to prevent the
potential undesirable generation of fines resulting from rehandling of particles that are
already within the specified product particle size distribution. At present Lydian are
allowing 10 days of downtime per annum for adverse weather conditions during which
no mining operations are planned to occur.
The footprint of the Option 10 plant was reduced by eliminating the crushed ore
stockpile that would be typically used as a buffer storage facility either after the primary
or after the secondary crushing stages. Intermediate storage and buffer capacity is
particularly significant in operations that require a substantial period of operating time
to achieve steady state conditions and which are sensitive to stoppages that may
cause a decreased in efficiency or metal recoveries. A crushing and screening
operation, like the one proposed for the Amulsar project, is capable of achieving steady
state in a short period of time (within minutes). In the proposed plant configuration any
buffer storage requirements would be dealt with at both ends of the circuit – by
management of the mining fleet, ROM stockpile and by providing surge capacity at the
end of the circuit to cater for stoppages of the overland conveyor. The proposed circuit
configuration is expected to provide a robust plant with ample catch up and sprint
capability. Given the nature of heap leaching operations, the location of the project and
the climatic conditions in the area, these factors are expected to be key components in
achieving the targeted plant throughput.
Estimating of operating costs for each of the options considered was not carried out as
part of this study. However, power draws for major equipment considered in the
options comparison (crushers and screens) were estimated to vary by less than
240 kW between the ten options. Using a basis of 6 390 operating hours per annum,
10 Mtpa plant throughput and an assumed power cost of USD 0.05/kWh, the 240 kW
range would translate to a variation in the opex cost between the ten options of less
than 1 cent per tonne of ore processed. It is therefore anticipated that, under normal
operating conditions, none of the options considered would have a significant
advantage, or disadvantage, in terms of operating cost in relation to the other options.
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The following Table 5-2 provides a comparison of crushers power installed and power
drawn for Option 8 (based KD Engineering feasibility study) and Option 10 (the selected
flowsheet) for the current trade-off study.
Option 8 Option 10
Stage (KDE Based Configuration) (Trade-off Study Selection)
Installed (MW) Drawn (MW) Installed (MW) Drawn (MW)
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Figure 6-2 on the following page illustrates the general layout of the proposed crushing
and screening facility forming part of the overall Amulsar Gold Project.
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It is planned to mine ore from a number of pits in order to achieve the required mine
production rate. The general process sequence for the Amulsar Gold Project will start
in the mine pits with loading of ROM ore into trucks which will take the ore to the ROM
pad, where it will be tipped into a Primary Crusher Dump Pocket (2110-BN-001).
Tipping will be from both sides of the dump pocket. From the dump pocket, ore will
gravitate into the Primary Gyratory Crusher which will reduce the ROM ore from a
nominal top lump size of 700 mm diameter to a top size of 355 mm and P80 of
approximately 130 mm. Some re-handle on the ROM pad to maintain plant utilisation
is expected.
At full production the total design feed rate will be 1800 t/h. The Primary Crusher has
been sized to process the largest pieces of ROM ore at 700 mm diameter. However,
the design of the selected crusher enables feeding particles of up to 1 260 mm if
required and as may be necessitated by the mining operations.
Coarse ore lumps which block the crusher throat will be broken up by a Rock Breaker
(2110-RB-001) located adjacent to the Primary Crusher Dump Pocket (2110-BN-001).
Ore which has passed through the crusher will enter the Primary Crusher Discharge
Bin from where the ore is withdrawn by a Primary Crusher Low Profile Belt Feeder
(2110-CV-001). The low profile belt feeder will discharge onto the Primary Crusher
Discharge Conveyor (2120-CV-001).
The primary crusher will be fitted with dust collection equipment (2110-PK-001) and the
production tonnage will be monitored by the Primary Crusher Discharge Belt
Weightometer (2110-WE-001).
When the primary crusher is out of service for maintenance, the ore from the pit will be
dumped on the adjacent ROM pad. From here it will be rehandled for feeding into the
Primary Crusher using front end loaders.
At the discharge end of the Primary Crusher Discharge Conveyor, any entrained tramp
metal will be collected by the Tramp Magnet (2110-MG -001). Recovered tramp metal
will be dropped at intervals via the Tramp Magnet Discharge Chute (2110-CH-004) into
a Tramp Magnet Bin (2110-BN-003). Ore from the Primary Crusher Discharge
Conveyor will gravitate via the Primary Discharge Conveyor Head Chute (2110-CH-
001) to the Secondary Screen Feed Conveyor (2120-CV-001) which will be fitted with a
Primary Crusher Discharge Weightometer (2110-WE-001). The Secondary Screen
Feed Conveyor will discharge via the Secondary Screen Feed Conveyor Head Chute
(2120-CH-001) to the secondary screen feed bin.
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Figure 6-5
5 Example of a Primary Gyratory Crusher Installation
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Secondary Screen Feed Bins will have two discharge points, each of which will feed
ore to the secondary screening circuit comprising two parallel belt feeders, double deck
screens and product conveyors. Ore withdrawn from Secondary Screening Feed Bins
(2120-BN-201, 202) will be fed via Secondary Feed Bin Discharge Chutes (2120-CH-
101, 201) by Secondary Screen Belt Feeders (2120-FB-101, 201) onto Secondary
Double-Deck Screens (2120-SN-101, 201). Each screen will be fitted with two screen
decks. The upper screen will have 75 mm square apertures while the lower screen will
have 20 mm square apertures.
Secondary screen oversize will gravitate via the Secondary Screen O/S Chutes (2120-
CH-104, 204) to the Secondary Oversize Conveyor (2130-CV-001). The Secondary
Screens product will pass via Secondary Screen Discharge Chutes (2120-CH-103,
203) to the Secondary Screen U/S Conveyor (2160-CV-001).
The secondary screen O/S conveyor will discharge to Secondary Crusher Feed Bins
(2130-BN-101, 201). The secondary screen U/S conveyor will discharge to the Fine
Ore Bin. The secondary/tertiary screening equipment will be fitted with dust collection
equipment (2140-PK-001) comprising a dry baghouse, fan and associated ductwork.
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The Secondary Crushing Feed Bin will have two discharge points, each of which will
feed ore to the secondary crushing circuit comprising two parallel belt feeders, cone
crushers and crushed product conveyors.
Ore withdrawn from Secondary Crusher Feed Bins (2130-BN-101, 201) will be fed via
the Secondary Crushing Feed Bin Discharge Chutes (2130-CH-101, 201) by the
Secondary Crusher Belt Feeders (2130-FB-101, 201) via the Secondary Crusher Feed
Chutes (2130-CH-102, 202) into the Secondary Crushers (2130-CR-101, 201).
Secondary crusher discharge will gravitate via the Secondary Crusher Discharge
Chutes (2130-CH-103,203) to the Secondary Crusher Discharge Conveyor (2140-CV-
001).
The secondary crusher discharge conveyor will discharge to Tertiary Screening Feed
Bins (2140-BN-101,201,301).
An illustration of a typical cone crusher that would be used in the proposed duty is
shown in Figure 6-7.
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Tertiary Screening Feed Bins will have three discharge points, each of which will feed
secondary and tertiary crushed product to the tertiary screening circuit comprising three
parallel vibrating feeders, double deck screens and product conveyors. Ore withdrawn
from Tertiary Screening Feed Bins (2140-BN-101,201,301) will be fed via the Tertiary
Feed Bin Discharge Chutes (2140-CH-101,201,301) by the Tertiary Screen Vibrating
Feeders (2140-FV-101,201,301) onto Tertiary Double-Deck Screens (2140-SN-
101,201,301).
Tertiary screen oversize will gravitate via the Tertiary Screen O/S Chutes (2130-CH-
010,011,012) to the Tertiary Screen Oversize Conveyor (2140-CV-001). The Tertiary
Screen product (undersize) will be conveyed to the crushed ore surge been prior to
being transported via the overland conveyor to heap leach stacking. Each screen will
be fitted with two screen decks. The upper screen will have 32 mm square apertures
while the lower screen will have 18 mm square apertures.
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The Tertiary Crushing Feed Bin will have three discharge cones, each of which will
feed ore to a tertiary crushing circuit comprising three belt feeders and three short head
cone crushers.
Ore withdrawn from the Tertiary Crusher Feed Bin (2150-BN-101, 201 & 301) will be
fed via the Tertiary Crushing Feed Bin Discharge Chutes (2150-CH-101, 301) by the
Tertiary Crusher Belt Feeders (2150-FB-101, 201 & 301) via the Tertiary Crusher Feed
Chutes (2150-CH-101, 201 & 301) into the Tertiary Crushers (2150-CR-101, 201 &
301).
Tertiary crusher discharge will gravitate via the Tertiary Crusher Discharge Chutes
(2150-CH-101, 201 & 301) to the Tertiary Crusher Discharge Conveyor (2140-CV-001).
The Tertiary Crusher Discharge Conveyor will discharge to the Tertiary Screening Feed
Bin (2140-BN-101,201,301).
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The Crushed Ore Surge Bin will be located adjacent to the Tertiary Screening Building,
and will be of an equivalent height. The crushed ore surge bin will have interconnected
walkways to allow operator access and for heating.
The heating system design is based on a hot water supply. The hot water will be
supplied using a boiler package 2960-PK-001 and circulated to the plant building. Heat
exchanger and fan propelled heaters are proposed for this duty. Illustrations of a
typical boiler and heat-exchanger type heater that could be used in this duty are shown
in Figure 6-10 and Figure 6-11.
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A capital cost estimate (CAPEX) has been undertaken for the proposed revised layout.
The relevant estimating documentation, showing detailed breakdown of each area, is
provided in the Appendix B. The capital cost estimate summary for the revised
crushing and screening plant layout is summarised in Table 7-1. The crushing and
screening component contains an adjustment of USD 6,794,916 to allow for the
inclusion of the fine ore bin and lime silo and which is based on the KD Engineering
estimate as agreed in discussions between Lydian International and SNC-Lavalin.
The level of accuracy obtained in this study is of the magnitude of ±15%, a summary of
the estimate build-up and parameters associated with the capital cost estimate are
provided in the Appendix B.
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7.1 Equipment
• Mechanical equipment: quotations sourced from the market via vendors with a track
record in the industry, sole sourcing from some vendors was adopted to reduce
overall study timeline, detailed specification driven multiple vendor bids may be
undertaken in the next study phase to maximize cost competitiveness.
• Electrical equipment: quotations sourced from the market via vendors with a track
record in the industry.
• Instrumentation and Controls: conceptual P&ID’s produced, costs factored utilising
in-house data.
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7.4 Mechanical
• Mechanical equipment – refer to section 7.1.
• Mechanical platework items are assigned a unique equipment number e.g. chutes,
distribution boxes etc.
• Ductwork for dust extraction system and baghouses via manual MTO.
• Manual MTO’s are generated on a plant area basis.
7.5 Piping
• Piping for hot water system via manual MTO.
• Manual Valves: manual quantity take-off based on the conceptual P&ID’s.
7.6 Electrical
• Electrical Equipment, refer to section 7.1.
• LV distribution, cables schedules etc, based on overall layout and factored via
database.
• Medium Voltage (6.6kV) VSDs are used as soft starters.
• Cable trays, linear metres, manual take-off.
7.7 Instrumentation
Instrumentation interface and PCS I/O requirements was factored from similar project
via in-house database.
7.12 Contingency
Allowance for the unknown, which is included as an indirect cost.
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7.14.1 Commissioning
No allowance has been made for a commissioning team or support from the
construction team with respect to commissioning and should be included as Owners
Cost.
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Buildings heated for cold climatic Not stated in the information pack
conditions. provided.
Boiler building, boiler and heat exchanger Not stated in the information pack
units and piping system allowed for in the provided.
estimate.
Building, roof and side sheeting Not stated in the information pack
composite sandwich construction for cold provided.
climatic conditions.
Conveyors covered and walkways Not stated in the information pack
allowed on enclosed conveyor gantries provided.
allowing internal access to buildings.
Concrete raft concept design for all Not stated in the information pack
buildings for seismic design provided.
considerations.
Building purlins and girts designed for Not stated in the information pack
snow load/additional loadings with provided.
respect to the selection of composite
sheeting.
HV Transformers, concrete slab and blast Not stated in the information pack
wall, foundation and bund wall provided.
incorporated.
The following Table 8-2 provides a comparison of the original KDE Engineering
estimate, SNC-Lavalin estimate and the KDE estimate adjusted using various factors
and subsequently explained.
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The column labelled “KDE Estimate” provides an extract from the original estimate
covering the crushing and screening plant. The column “SNC-Lavalin Estimate”
provides a summary of the crushing and screening cost as currently developed by
SNC-Lavalin. The adjusted total cost includes the product loadout section adjustment.
This adjustment was introduced to ensure that the two estimates are compared on the
same basis and using the same battery limits. Following discussions with Lydian it was
agreed that the cost estimate of fine ore bins and lime storage silo will be added to the
SNC-Lavalin estimate for this purpose.
The first major consideration is the cost of concrete. KDE used a figure of USD 150
per cubic metre, which is considered to be significantly understated. Additionally, in an
email dated 19/10/2012 and entitled “KDE Concrete Costs”, Lydian International
provided SNC-Lavalin with information indicating that KD Engineering stated that the
original cost of concrete was underestimated by approximately USD 10M – thus the
concrete adjustment value shown in Table 8-2. For the purposes of this study it was
believed to be more appropriate to use KDE’s own adjustment since it was made
available.
In the capital cost estimate SNC-Lavalin applied factors to the mechanical equipment
cost to generate a series of costs for electrical and instrumentation associated with the
process plant areas. These factors are well understood and defined for similar plants.
However, the electrical and instrumentation costs in the KD Engineering estimate
indicate a much lower cost factor, which equates to the order of 6% of the mechanical
equipment cost. The differential between the SNC-Lavalin and KD Engineering
estimates is in the order of USD 8.5M. For comparison purposes SNC-Lavalin propose
that USD 8.5M be included in the KD Engineering estimate to make up for this
difference.
To further facilitate a direct comparison, SNC-Lavalin based the labour rates on the KD
Engineering rates, which include a productivity factor of 2.0. It is SNC-Lavalin’s opinion
that a more suitable productivity factor for the region where the project is to be
undertaken should be 3. This does not affect the comparison in this study and the
aspect can be addressed in the next phase of the project.
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