Firm welcomes rainfall

 RAMU NiCo Management Ltd says the recent rainfall experienced at Kurumbukari where its mine is located is good news for its operation.

It said the El Nino weather pattern in the past five months had no serious impact on the normal operation of KBK mine at the moment. But the drought if it continues may have some impact on production, especially for two plants and the pipeline which required a huge amount of water.

The Gagaya River, which supplies KBK mine production stream, is drying up while the reserve dam built last year beside the main dam is aiding the operation at the moment.

KBK mine executive deputy general manager Meng Deyong said the mine used 40,000 cubic meters of water per day and 1500 to 1700 cubic meters of water per hour to operate three streams or drum washers at the mines washing plant. “We have four streams at the moment but sometime we stop two streams and operate only two due to water shortage. With the inclusion of hydro mining in KBK mine two years ago, the demand for water has increased forcing the management to stop it every eight hours daily to allow the washing drums to operate smoothly while the water reserve builds up,”  Deyong said.