K92: Plant expansion a milestone

KAINANTU gold mine operator K92 Mining Ltd says the commissioning of its stage 2 plant expansion is a milestone for the company.
K92 chief executive officer and director John Lewins said: “We are extremely pleased to have successfully completed the commissioning of our stage 2 plant expansion, which represents an important milestone for the company and a positive step-change in our throughput capabilities, doubling from 200,000 tpa (tonnes per annum) to 400,000 tpa.”
Lweins said the performance of the expanded plant to date had exceeded expectations on throughput, with the plant achieving five consecutive days significantly above design.
“Recoveries have also been solid post-commissioning and have been steadily increasing through late Q3 (third quarter) and into Q4 (fourth quarter) as our team fine tunes the circuit.”
He said mining operations had also been tracking well, benefiting from an expanded fleet and a significant boost to operational flexibility, with long hole stopping now firmly established on the K1 and K2 veins.
“We are especially excited about the remainder of this year for Kainantu.
“The fourth quarter is expected to deliver our strongest quarterly production to date, benefitting from the completion of the Stage 2 Plant Expansion in Q3.”
He said exploration activities were also ramping up considerably, with nine drill rigs now on site, and one more rig expected to arrive by the end of the year.
“Drill rigs are currently targeting the Judd, Karempe and Kora vein systems, with exploration on Kora South planned to commence this quarter.
“The second drill programme is also scheduled to commence at Blue Lake this quarter, we expect to provide exploration updates on our vein field exploration programmes near-term,” Lewins said.
He highlighted the exceptional commitment of K92’s workforce and the quality of the Kora deposit.