The process plant is designed for a nominal 4.0 Mtpa (9,000 tpd) throughput on the life of mine. The design has allowed the nominal throughput to be achieved in 8,000 operating hours per year.
The flowsheet comprises a primary jaw crusher feeding a surge bin and dead stockpile and then to a SABC comminution circuit, producing a target P80 90 µm grind size. A gravity circuit will be provided within the milling area and discharge to an ILR. Pre-leach thickening and a cyanide leach and adsorption circuit is also included along with a split AARL 18.0 t elution circuit that will recover the gold for electrowinning.
The leach tails will pass to a cyanide destruction circuit using the SMBS / air technology to ensure plant tailings comply with the International Cyanide Management Code (< 50 ppm WAD cyanide). The leach feed thickener overflow will provide cyanide free water for use in the milling circuit, while decant return from the tailings dam will supply process water.
