Asian Mineral Resources A first for Vietnam
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Asian Mineral Resources
A first for Vietnam The Ban Phuc nickel mine represents a new industry for Vietnam, and is perhaps the first of a number of nickel projects to be developed by Asian Mineral Resources
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Richard Halfhide
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nalysts talk of Vietnam production in June 2013. “We are flat out becoming the fastest growing finalising construction of the process plant Asian economy, reaching a ten and the infrastructure to support that,” says percent growth rate within AMR’s CEO Simon Booth, who has moved to the next twelve years with Hanoi to oversee progress of the company’s one of the main drivers being its natural 90 percent owned subsidiary Ban Phuc Nickel resources. The country has significant known Mines (BPNM). “Our activities are very much deposits of many bulk and niche minerals, focused on getting the plant operational, including bauxite, rare earths, tungsten, and restarting the underground operations titanium, phosphate, coal and iron ore but next month, leading to the opening of the with the exception of its coal most current processing plant at the end of June,” he says. mining operations are on a small scale. There The mine represents nothing less than the is a huge opportunity there for large-scale start of a new industry, and while there is a development, since the mining industry limited amount of expertise in the country, the Vietnamese are hungry currently contributes only for additional skills. “The two percent of Vietnam’s GDP, if oil, gas and coal are mining industry is not a well developed industry here,” excluded. Nevertheless, with China he explains, “but that said on its northern border Vietnam every mine presents its own Jobs at the mine once has to be in the best place to challenges of drawing on the it’s in production supply the mineral needs of national expertise and talent its powerful neighbour. For and developing that. We these reasons there was bound to be a lot are bringing in a number of trainers from of interest in the country’s first nickel mine. overseas to train up the local workforce, Asian Mineral Resources (AMR) listed on the though the general level of education here is Toronto Stock Exchange’s Venture Exchange high, and there’s a strong will to acquire new in 2004, focusing all its efforts on developing skills.” If specialised mining is something of the massive sulphide nickel resource located a new area, a strong engineering base exists on what is now identified as the Ban Phuc in the country. It is just a question of taking Project Area located160 km west of Hanoi in those skills and moulding them to what is Son La Province, in north-western Vietnam. required on a mine site, he says. There’s no need to dwell on the period Currently the progress of the mine sounds from October 2008, when metal prices frenetic. As the finishing touches are made fell and work was suspended until market to the process plant, the infrastructure to conditions improved in 2012 and the project support it – the power connection to the could be restarted. Since the end of last year national grid for example – is being installed all systems have been go, aiming for first and tested. The tailings storage facility is being
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prepared, and at the same time preparations are going ahead for the recommencement of underground operations in May, so that there will be some ore ready for processing when the mill opens at the end of June. Once built the ore processing plant is expected to process 1,000 tonnes of run-of-mine ore per day to improve its nickel concentration from 2.2 percent to 9.5 percent. The process plant consists of a crusher, ball mill, classifiers, flotation cells, thickeners and filter press. Before the mine was put into maintenance mode nearly a kilometre of underground development and shafts had already been prepared, Booth points out, so this is not like starting a mine from scratch. “We have already intersected the ore body on two different levels, so much of the hard part
Asian Mineral Resources
Overview of the plant site
is already done.” Concentrate from the mill will be packed in two tonne bags for ease of handling and transportation, but also to reduce dust. Then it will be taken by truck from the mine site to the port of Haiphong and sold to the international market through a Hong Kong based commodities trading group. In the immediate vicinity of the mine the majority of the people available are either
unskilled or semi skilled. For technicians it is usually necessary to spread the net wider, throughout Son La Province or beyond. If they can’t be found in Vietnam, then they are brought in from abroad. There’s a core of people who were working with AMR back in 2008, and who are very keen to get back into the saddle. For the rest, an intense training programme started at the end of 2012. “They are doing very well under our expat training
“The general level of education here is high, and there’s a strong will to acquire new skills”
team, which includes one trainer that we recruited from a mine in Laos. It has been very much easier for him to understand the culture here and the key tasks that are needed to build a successful training programme.� The programme uses recognised training modules that have been translated into Vietnamese. They are learning to operate some very sophisticated machinery controlled by PLC (programmable logic controller) systems accessed by HMI (human-machine
interface) with output that is largely numerical and graphic so language is less important than the ability to read figures. Having been involved pre-2008, another contractor Aurecon is returning to provide electrical, and control and instrumentation design as well as engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the process plant, slurry line to the tailings dam, and potentially the underground mine. At the time of writing there are around
“We have already intersected the ore body on two different levels, so much of the hard part is already done�
Plant worker carrying out maintenance
Asian Mineral Resources
The next phase of construction being discussed
250 people working on the site, but once the mine is in full production numbers will rise to around 400, perhaps 10 percent expatriate. The actual mining operation will be carried out by a specialist contractor from Australia. Mancala was appointed in December 2012 under a three-year contract to supply the underground mine with development and pre-production personnel, mine equipment and management services to develop and mine some 350,000 tonnes of ore annually. The company is bringing in its own expert trainers, however it aims to have a largely Vietnamese workforce within six months. “The best thing in underground mining,” says Booth, “is to keep it simple. This is an operation that will be raising standards in safety, health, environmental performance and in the way it looks after its community
and it will be a proud place.” Though the resource as defined at present will support commercial mining for around six years with more than 200,000 tonnes of nickel and copper concentrate, its extent could be considerably greater – with a consequently longer mine life. “It has very good exploration potential, and geologically this is a very attractive area for new nickel resources to be located,” says Simon Booth. “We will recommence drilling after we commission the process plant, and I can see AMR operating in Vietnam for a great deal longer than just six years.” For more information about Asian Mineral Resources visit: www.asianminres.com
Asian Mineral Resources 9 Nguyen Hong Street Ba Dinh District Hanoi, Vietnam
T + 84 4 3 773 7997 www.asianminres.com
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