EIA clearance for prospective lead producer

North River Resources plc recently announced that the Ministry of Environment and Tourism had approved its application for the re-commissioning of its Namib lead-zinc mine. The mine was previously operational from 1962 to 1992.
North River submitted an application on 20 January 2014 with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, with a definitive feasibility study planned for the first quarter of 2014.
Martin French, Managing Director, North River Resources said, “Environmental clearance is a major milestone and is a prerequisite for the granting of a Mining Licence for Namib. Detailed implementation planning and site preparation is also under way at Namib. Site offices are being installed and heavy equipment procurement is being evaluated. We are pleased with the project progress.” The Namib project is North River Resources’ flagship mining project, and is also prospecting for copper, uranium, and gold throughout Namibia.
The project has a current JORC compliant resource of 1,527,000 tonnes, with resulting in-situ metal inventory of 23,700 tonnes of lead, 65,500 tonnes of zinc, and 1.48 million ounces of silver. Once fully operational, North River Resources anticipates production circa 200,000 tonnes of ore annually. North River has also appointed CSA Global, and Bara Consulting, both of which are English firms to elevate its mining development plan to a full feasibility study.

The process according to North River will involve a new resource estimate prepared by CSA Global, and verification and mine design work by Bara which will update the mining development plan to provide reserves and a feasibility study.
According to North River, pre production capital expenditure has been estimated at US$25 million, with the processing plant set to cost US$14.5 million, US$4 million for mining infrastructure, and a further US$1.5 million geared towards the development of the mine.
The tailings dam and a 22 kilovolt power line will be refurbished while a new small diameter 7km water line will be installed.
Ore will be accessed via the two existing declines. High-grade ore is ready to be mined with minimal capital development required. The mine will be developed and ore extracted using hand held techniques.
The flow sheet consists of single stage crushing, followed by a 450kW ball mill, feeding into a sequential lead and zinc flotation circuit. No thickening of the concentrates is required, with the flotation circuit feeding directly into the filters according to North River. The concentrates will be transported 70 kilometres by road or rail to the Port of Walvis Bay for export.