Greenland Resources Plans Doppelmayr RopeCon Conveyor at Malmbjerg Moly Project

Greenland Resources Inc has taken a different approach to mine transportation at its Malmbjerg moly project in Greenland, proposing in a feasibility study the use of a Doppelmayr RopeCon ® aerial conveyor to transport the ore to the processing plant.

Executive Chairman Dr. Ruben Shiffman said the company chose to "prioritize the environment over capital expenditure" in a definitive feasibility study that outlined the project's 20-year open pit life with an annual production of 24.1 MIb of molybdenum from the mine site.

The Malmbjerg molybdenum project image

In addition to the plan to use Doppelmayr RopeCon conveyors at Malmbjerg moly project instead of the cheaper, less environmentally friendly diesel haulers, this will save the company more than $80 million in capital expenditures, according to Shiffman. The company also plans to use brine as process water in its processing plant, with very low concentrations of reagents to mitigate any potential environmental contamination.

The Malmbjerg project consists of a conventional open-pit mine producing 35,000 tonnes per day of molybdenum-rich ore processed at a conventional base metal sulfide concentrator. The mine plan's fleet of equipment includes two 34 cubic meter hydraulic shovels loaded with 13 x 230-ton haul trucks operating on a 12-meter platform.

The operating mining program will utilize an economic grade control system where higher value ore will be separated and transported to the processing plant, while lower value ore will be stockpiled and disposed of at the end of conventional mining.

Waste rock will be stored on the west side of the deposit for haul roads and construction activities at the mine site. The current mining reserves dictate a 20-year mine life, of which 11 years will be spent with the concentrator feeding ore directly from the open pit and the remaining 9 years will be spent processing stockpiled ore.

Ore produced from the open pit will be transported to the primary crusher and loaded onto a ropeway aerial conveyor at Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH for transport to the concentrator plant located 21.7 km northeast of the open pit on tidal waters.

According to Greenland Resources, "The ropeway aerial transporter is similar to historical ore ropeway systems that have been employed where the terrain is complex and the ore surface transport system is topographically and economically unfavorable. The ropeway is expected to generate electricity for the mine site during operation."

RopeCon archives image

The ropeway aerial conveyor discharges the ore into a 35,000 ton "live" stockpile at the concentrator for processing. The concentrator plant is a modular design, built on a barge and transported to the project site from an overseas shipyard, where the barge will be permanently positioned at a dedicated beach location. The modular design of the 35,000 ton per day concentrator was selected based on the economics of off-site construction and reduced commissioning time for concentrate production.

The average feed grade over the life of mine was 0.176% MoS2 with an estimated recovery of 84.6% MoS2. The plant includes two SAG circuits that feed a conventional multi-stage flotation circuit to produce a molybdenum-rich concentrate.

Initial capital for the Malmbjerg moly project of Greenland Resources is estimated at $820 million, of which $194.4 million is reserved for Doppelmayr RopeConveyor.

 

 

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