A South Australian mining company’s plans for the largest base metal mine in Algeria is now one step closer to construction, following the completion of a revised Definitive Feasibility Study.
Located near the Algerian city of Bejaia, the Tala Hamza Zinc Project is expected to produce an average of 129,300 tonnes per annum of zinc concentrate at 54 per cent zinc (90 per cent recovery) and 26,000 tonnes per annum of lead concentrate at 63 per cent lead (73 per cent recovery) over 21 years. A processing plant with a 1.3 million tonne per annum capacity will also be built on site.
South Australian miner Terramin, through its subsidiary Western Mediterranean Zinc Spa (WMZ), hopes to have full approvals by the end of this year with the aim of processing the first ore in 2021. The company has stated that several changes were made to the initial 2010 Definitive Feasibility Study to address social and environmental concerns and reduce the project’s surface footprint.
Terramin’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Taylor, said the Tala Hamza deposit is approximately 500 metres underground, so the company has to start mining the decline to reach the ore body and that’s what drives the construction timeframe.
“This is a world-class deposit for zinc and lead, there aren’t too many of those undeveloped around the world that are known about,” he explained.
Close to 50 per cent of the world’s zinc supply is used for galvanising steel, for use in various industries including construction and automotive. Global demand for zinc has been forecast to frequently rise until at least 2030, particularly in developing nations where construction is strong. Global supply of zinc is also expected to ease from 2020 following a series of mine closures, which are expected to keep prices strong.
“Tala Hamza is one of the projects that need to go ahead to fill that demand gap,” Mr Taylor said, “there are also about five neighbouring targets for exploration that we haven’t even started looking at yet, so we see the upside potential in that region as significant and this is just the first of what could be a series of developments in that area which is pretty exciting for us.”
Total Life of Mine capital inclusive of pre-production capital and sustaining capital is expected to be close to AU$639m while operating costs are expected to be competitive by world standards. Presently Terramin holds a 65 per cent shareholding in WMZ, with the remaining 35 per cent held by two Algerian government-owned companies.
More information on this project can be found here.