COPPER MINING Commissioning of Dikulushi Stage 2 Begins

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Australia's ANVIL MINING has begun commissioning the Stage 2 expansion of its Dikulushi copper mine in this African country. The expansion involves replacing the current heavy media separation (HMS) plant with ball mill and flotation circuits.

During the initial stages of the commissioning process, the ball mill and flotation circuits will be run during the day and the HMS will be run during the night. When the operation of the ball mill and flotation circuits reach designed performance, the HMS plant will be closed down and decommissioned.

The expanded plant will increase metal recovery to 92% (from 71%) and make a higher-grade concentrate, 55% Cu and 1,700 g/t Ag (up from 40% Cu and 1,000 g/t Ag). With higher concentrate grades, Anvil Mining expects transportation and smelting charges to fall by 30%. Output from the flotation plant will rise 50%, compared to the old HMS plant.

Anvil is also replacing the old fleet of 25-t haul trucks with 40-t models in a bid to cut unit costs.

More information about the Dikulushi project and Anvil Mining is posted at www.anvil.com.au.