Abstract

ILUNGA, P. et al. The Mutoshi Project - Part I: Metallurgical test work, process design, and project delivery. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. [online]. 2018, vol.118, n.11, pp.1171-1178. ISSN 2411-9717.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2411-9717/2018/v118n11a7.

Developing a greenfield mining project is a complex exercise: doing so in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, and ambiguous global economy adds significantly to this complexity. In the context of an elevated cobalt price, this paper outlines the metallurgical and process development of the Mutoshi copper-cobalt project for copper cathode and cobalt hydroxide production in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chemaf has a long production history on the Copperbelt, a region widely perceived to be tough to operate in. This history stretches back to 2001, during which time the company has developed two copper-cobalt processing facilities. The experience gained in the development and operation of these two facilities has been used extensively in the Mutoshi copper-cobalt project. The metallurgical test work, process design, and project delivery approach are presented. Additionally, the decisions taken to minimize risk and maximize upside to the project are discussed.

Keywords : copper-cobalt; greenfield project; test work; process design; project delivery.

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