INTERVIEW
MINE OF THE MONTH – NEVES CORVO/ALJUSTREL
Lundin in Portugal
Lundin Mining has signalled a new era for the Portuguese mining sector with the
purchase of EuroZinc and its main asset – Neves Corvo – followed by the decision to re-
start mothballed Aljustrel The headframe at Neves Corvo
Neves Corvo
T
HE Neves Corvo orebodies were discov-
ered in 1977 after a period of exploration
drilling to test favourable gravity anoma-
lies. Following discovery, Somincor was
formed to exploit the deposits, and by
1983, the Corvo, Graça, Neves and Zambujal sulphide
deposits had been partially outlined. Rio Tinto be-
came involved in the project in 1985, forming a
49/51% joint venture with the Portuguese govern-
ment. This change in shareholding led to a reap-
praisal of the project with eventual first production
commencing from the Upper Corvo and Graça ore-
bodies on 1 January 1989, achieving 1 Mt in that year.
Total capital cost for the mine was about US$350 mil-
lion. Both partners sold their stakes to EuroZinc Min-
ing in 2005, and in late 2006, EuroZinc merged with
Lundin Mining, the current owner.
The long term importance of the mine to the area
has been considerable – it currently has 612 employ-
ees on-site of which 505 are contractors and
107 direct workers.
The mine has five main orebodies – Neves, Graca,
Corvo, Zambujal and Lombador, whose operations
The milling circuit in the
Neves Corvo copper plant
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10-12MM0706.indd 10
supply the Neves Corvo shaft,
which has a capacity of about
3 Mt/y. The copper plant capacity is
about 2.2 Mt/y and the zinc plant
400,000 t/y. Both the plants use
conventional grinding followed by
flotation. In 2006 the copper plant
achieved an average recovery of
88.4% and a concentrate grade of
24.7% with contained metal
production of 78,576 t in 2006. The
zinc plant achieved an average
recovery of 81.3% and a concen-
trate grade of 49.2% in the March
quarter of this year, with the target
for the full year 25,000 t of contained zinc. By 2016 it
is expected that Neves Corvo will be producing more
zinc than copper.
The measured and indicated resources at Neves
Corvo currently stand at 19.4 Mt at 5.61% Cu. As of
February 2007, the operation had produced some
2 Mt of copper metal, with about 1 Mt remaining in
this resource figure. The February 2007 zinc
measured and indicated resource stood at 30.6 Mt at
6.15% Zn, equivalent to 1.89 Mt contained metal.
The major in-mine exploration area for zinc is the
LS zone of the Lombador orebody, where extensive
infill drilling is now being conducted with positive
results including 32 m of one hole at 9.82% Zn.
Promising copper results include the Corvo/
Lombador intersection and parts of the Zambujal
deposit.
PASTE AND BACKFILL
The mine produces two main types of backfill for
stope void filling, hydraulic fill and paste fill. The
hydraulic fill consists of sand, mined and trucked
from a quarry, cycloned tailing and cement. The
fill is prepared in a surface plant and fed to the
stopes via bore holes drilled to surface. The
distribution from the boreholes to the stopes is
carried out using 150 mm-diameter steel pipes.
The sand for the fill is quarried and transported
by rail some 100 km from site close to the port
facility of Setubal in the mine concentrate
containers on their return journey from the port.
The main paste fill plant was first used in 1999 and
was designed with a capacity of 350,000 m3/y, the
mine currently uses less than this. The plant
currently has the capacity to place 80-90 m3/h.
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 MINING NEVES CORVO LATEST PRODUCTION
The mine access is provided by one Copper March quarter 2007 March quarter 2006
vertical 5 m-diameter shaft, hoisting Tonnes milled (‘000) 553 491
ore from the main haulage 700 m Copper grade (%) 4.99 4.17
level, and a ramp from surface at a Copper produced (‘000 t) 23.4 19.3
gradient of 12%. The upper crusher Copper concentrate grade 23.2 24.6
station is located at the 700 m level Plant recovery (%) 87.1 89.3
and crushes ore and waste from the Zinc March quarter 2007 March quarter 2006
Upper Corvo, Neves and Graca Tonnes milled (‘000) 94 - 148
orebodies. This facility has four, Zinc grade (%) 8.76 - 8.44
1,500 t capacity storage bins and a Zinc produced (‘000 t) 6.2 - 7.5
jaw crusher capable of handling up Zinc concentrate grade 49.2 - 49.1
to 600 t/h. The material for hoisting is Plant recovery (%) 81.3 - 60.2
fed from the storage bins by a short
conveyor for skip hoisting at the hangingwall to footwall by drilling and blasting
loading pocket. 15 m long, 105 mm-diameter vertical blast holes.
A crusher at the 550 m level services the lower The ore is extracted at the bottom of the stope
section of the mine, which extends from the 700 m using remote controlled LHDs and the ore loaded
level to below 550 m – this crushes ore from Lower into underground mine trucks.
Corvo, Graca and Neves. Ore and waste reporting to The main underground equipment consists of a
the crusher is fed directly onto a vibrating screen. The fleet of Sandvik Toro 40D trucks for haulage and
installation has a limited storage capacity of 900 t, several types of Sandvik Toro LHD, including 501Ds,
which consists of two rock storage bins of 500 t and 0010s and 650Ds. Drift drilling is conducted using
400 t capacity. The material is crushed to 250 mm and Sandvik Minimatic and Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer
fed onto an inclined conveyor (25%) which delivers jumbos plus vertical drilling for bench and fill using
the crushed material to the 700 m level bins. The Atlas Copco Simba and Sandvik Solo models. Roof
inclined conveyor runs at a speed of 3.2 m/s and has support is done using Atlas Copco Boltec and
an installed capacity of 400 t/h. Sandvik Robolt bolting rigs allied with Aliva/
The most prominent mining methods used are Putzmeister shotcreting vehicles. Charging is
‘bench and fill’ and ‘drift and fill’; accounting for about conducted with Normet ANFO trucks. The mining
55% and 45% of production respectively. In the drift equipment is operated by contractor, EPOS, which
and fill method, footwall drives are developed in is also handling the new Aljustrel development.
waste along the strike of the orebody, positioned so
that short cross cutting ramps can be developed
both down and up dip to mine four vertical slices of “The long term importance
5 m in height.
The access cross cut from each ramp is driven of the mine to the area
through the ore to the hanging wall contact. An ore
drive is driven off the central access cross cut along
has been considerable
strike to the extremities of the ore, consecutive – it currently has
panels are then mined and filled with hydraulic fill.
The access ramps from the crosscut are mined at
612 employees on-site of
approximately 80 m centres. which 505 are contractors
In bench and fill, footwall crosscuts are
developed along strike in waste and at 12 m centres. and 107 direct workers”
Each stope is established by driving an access
crosscut through the ore to the hanging wall
contact. A slot raise is then mined using drop raising PROCESSING
up dip at the hanging wall contact from the bottom After the primary underground crushing stage,
ore drive to hole into the top ore drive (20 m from where ore is crushed to approximately 0.25 m the ore
floor to floor). Once this basic stope access has been is delivered to the surface and discharges via a
established the top of the slot is opened up to full stacker conveyor to a coarse ore stockpile of 50,000 t-
width and the slot raise widened to full stope width. capacity. The ore stockpiles are blended to ensure a
The stopes are then mined in retreat from constant copper head grade and that the levels of
penalty elements are kept within certain
The Neves Corvo limits – principally arsenic.
flotation circuit In the main copper plant, past difficulties
in crushing wet ore led to the installation of
a triple deck screen (35, 25 and 19 mm) to
remove fine material ahead of the crushing
plant. This significantly improved crushing
rates and now the crushing plant typically
operates for 10 hours per day at a rate of
600 t/h. The screen oversize passes to a
Svedala (Metso) gyratory crusher. The
crushed product is transferred to two
vibrating screens fitted with 19 mm decks,
10-12MM0706.indd 11
while screen undersize is
FY 2006 conveyed to the fine ore bin and
1,958 the oversize passes to two
4.56 Sandvik Hydrocone H-60 cone
78.6 crushers in parallel. The crushed
24.7 product is returned to the
88.4 19 mm screens. The crushed ore
FY 2006 passes to a fine ore bin of
approximately 10 t capacity and
then via a feed conveyor to the
grinding section.
The copper grinding section
consists of a rod mill (Allis 3.8 x
5.5 m with 1,000 kW) in open
circuit, and a primary and
secondary ball mill (Allis 4.1 x 6.7 m rubber lined with
1,600 kW) in closed circuit with hydrocyclones.
Treatment rate is currently 270 t/h, and the ore is
ground to 80% passing 40-45 µm. After grinding,
slurry passes to aerator conditioners. The copper
flotation circuit uses conventional cells of 38 m3 and
17 m3-capacity. Final copper concentrate is pumped
to a 40 m-diameter thickener where it is thickened to
70% solids before passing to the filter plant storage
tank. From the tank, the slurry is pumped on demand
to five Sala (now Metso) VPA filters.
The operation has been through most of its life as
a copper and tin operation, though the tin ore is now
exhausted. The spiral concentrators and rows of
Holman shaking tables that formed the tin plant have
been mothballed but are still in place in the event
that another resource of tin ore is discovered. The old
tin plant now forms the zinc plant that started up in
June 2006.
The zinc grinding circuit consists of two 4 m x 3 m
ball mills in series, each in closed circuit with
cyclones. Mill motors are 450 kW each, and produce a
flotation feed d80 size of 50 µm. Flotation separation
is carried out in banks of old Denver-type cells
(Denver was acquired by Svedala which was then
acquired by Metso Minerals), however, the circuit is to
be upgraded with Outotec OK-30 flotation cells to
allow for the planned capacity increases and which
will add to the existing four cleaning circuits. A new
Metso VPA filter is also being installed in the zinc
plant, which will be able to handle up to 500,000 t/y
of zinc ore. This is necessary due to the very fine
particle size in the zinc plant product – down to
15 µm.
PASTE TAILINGS PROJECT
After processing, the tailings are cycloned to provide
backfill material, and the remaining fines are pumped
to the dam. The Cerro do Lobo tailings dam is a
water retaining embankment dam; tailings are
deposited into the impoundment by sub-aqueous
means to prevent oxidation of the mainly sulphide
(pyrite) waste. Its 190 hectares make it one of the
largest in Europe.
Since 2001, Somincor has been investigating the
feasibility of changing the tailings deposition method
from sub-aqueous deposition, to sub-aerial
placement of paste. Work completed to date has
included a laboratory screening program, a three-
year field cell monitoring program, and pilot plant
testing.
Continued on page 12
June 2007 Mining Magazine 11
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 MINE OF THE MONTH – NEVES CORVO/ALJUSTREL
The latter investigated deposition techniques, as
well as co-disposal with waste rock, in a 1 hectare site
in the corner of the dam. Paste was placed up to
5 m-deep, and after completion, the pilot area was
capped and its performance monitored. Different
capping methods are being used to see what is most
economic versus the most efficient. Examples include
a compacted sand/bentonite layer, a ‘store and
release’ cover, and a capilliary break.
Data interpretation has involved extensive
geotechnical, geochemical and hydrogeological
modelling. Physical analysis work on the behaviour of
these paste tailings has been completed and final
results are due in mid-2007. The use of paste
deposition will maximise the storage capacity of the
Cerro do Lobo tailings dam, without the need for
increasing the footprint, as well as allowing
concurrent closure of the facility during operation.
Aljustrel
P
IRITES Alentejanas is the operating com-
pany for the Aljustrel mine, located about
40 km northwest of Neves Corvo. The
mine was previously in production only
for 18 months from September 1991
before closure in March 1993, due to a combination
of operating difficulties – the result failing to mine to
a grade cut-off and grinding deficiencies as well as
prevailing low metal prices at the time. The mine was
acquired by EuroZinc in 2001 following a feasibility
study, and EuroZinc then merged with Lundin Min-
ing.
While operating, the plant produced copper and
zinc concentrates, which were shipped by rail in
sealed pots to a dedicated concentrate storage and
handling facility located at the deep-water port of
Setubal. According to the records, only a small
amount of lead concentrate was produced in
February 1993. However, the mine has been on
thorough care and maintenance ever since hence
much of the old equipment can be re-used following
upgrading.
The new operation differs from Neves Corvo in
that it will also produce lead, zinc and silver rather
than copper and zinc, though it is planned to also
exploit more copper-rich parts of the orebody later
on in the minelife.
The decision to restart production at Aljustrel was
made on May 4, 2006 and the move will be a major
boost to the economy of the region, Alentejo
province, which has a tax rate of 21.5%, compared to
the normal corporate tax rate of 27% in the rest of
Portugal.
The existing Moinho dedicated ramp will transport
the ore up to surface near the plant using an already
in place three stage conveyor. There is some
enlargement work going on in this ramp to help with
regular maintenance operations. The new Feitas
decline will be used for men and materials.
Feitas will utilise a new Metso Minerals jaw crusher
underground and is currently using an Atlas Copco
L2C Rocket Boomer for final Feitas underground drift
development plus Volvo ADTs for rock removal. The
Rocket Boomer is operated by local mining
contractor, Empresa Potuguesa de Obras Subterra-
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10-12MM0706.indd 12
neas (EPOS) along with a series of other models
including Sandvik Minimatic and Axera jumbo types.
The LHDs to be used include a new Atlas Copco ST14
plus other Sandvik Toro models. The ventilation
system has been supplied by Zitron. EPOS is also
supplying the personnel for the mining contract.
The new Feitais crusher will be located at the
230 m level with the main orebody at the 430 m level
with underground haul truck transport used in
between.
Crushed ore will be stored in four underground
silos, then conveyed along a new 2.2 km Santa
Bárbara conveyor to join up with the existing
conveyor out of the old Moinho ramp to the coarse
ore stockpiles and two cone crushers and screens,
which are followed by two ball mills. The decision to
use so much conveying basically came down to the
distance factor that material would otherwise have to
be trammed and the associated cost and environ-
mental issues.
PROCESSING PLANS
The existing plant is being upgraded for restart, with a
completely new filtration plant, zinc flotation circuit,
regrind circuit plus a redesigned stockpile area. A new
Metso Minerals VPA 1530 filter has already been
purchased for delivery in mid-2007. The stockpile area
has had to be cleared of pyrite contamination and will
utilise the existing four feeders and a stacker/
conveyor system, all to be delivered by Metso. There
will be the possibility to separately stockpile waste
and copper ore from the main lead/zinc ore
stockpiles. Power will be supplied from a 25 MvA loop
that will also supply the Feitas area.
There is a rail spur right up to the Moinho plant
but initially concentrate will be trucked to the Feitais
rail link as it will take time to license use of the
Moinho spur, however, this is still the eventual plan.
In the mill itself, the two mothballed Morgardsham-
mar ball mills are being overhauled and configured
as primary and secondary ball mills in series. The mills
will be fitted with new Skega (Metso) rubber linings
and ABB is overhauling the drive systems. These will
receive a 12.5 mm feed from the surface cone
crushers, as a decision was made not to use a SAG
and ball route. The design throughput rate is 226 t/h.
The product from the primary grinding circuit at
60 μm size feeds the lead flotation circuit which will
utilise the existing Outotec OK-16 flotation cells, with
a rougher stage and three stages of cleaning. Lead
rougher regrinding to 10 μm is achieved with two
Metso Stirred Mill Detritor (SMD) mills. Zinc flotation
incorporating new Outotec OK-100 tank cells for
roughing and OK-50 and OK-30 tank cells for cleaning
follows lead flotation. Zinc rougher concentrate is
reground to 15 μm using four Metso SMD mills. Lead
concentrate will be dewatered using existing
thickeners and VPA filters, while zinc concentrate will
be dewatered using a new Dorr-Oliver EIMCO 18 m
thickener and the new Metso VPA filter.
STAGES OF PRODUCTION
The operation will be developed in stages – at first,
ore will only be produced from Moinho in order to
start up the plant. After one year of production,
Feitais production will start and both areas of the
mine will produce for about six months, after which
Feitais will be exploited for the remainder of the mine
life – 11/12 years at current reserve figures. The
advance rate of the access ramp was running at
about 150 m/month in April 2007 and connection at
a depth of 1,005 m to the existing Moinho workings
was expected in mid-May.
During the first year of operation, about 1.4 Mt of
zinc ore will be processed from the Moinho deposit,
where a lot of work has also been done to access
remaining reserves, and in the subsequent years ore
will be processed only from the Feitais deposit with
production of 1.8 Mt/y, apart from a six month period
then there will be production from both areas. The
remaining Moinho production will utilise an existing
crusher, ore bin and hoist up to the main three stage
conveyor.
The annual output from Feitas is forecast to be
80,000 t/y of contained zinc and 15,000 t/y of
contained lead with 1.2 Moz/y of contained silver.
Zinc recovery will be about 80% with a concentrate
grade o 50%. Expected lead recovery is 58.5% with a
concentrate grade of 50%.
The Aljustrel tailings will initially use the existing
lower tailings dam, which was only used for a short
time in its previous operational period – this has
about 1.5-2 years of use remaining before material is
sent to the newer upper dam that is currently being
prepared. A thickener on-site is currently being used
for water treatment but could form part of a paste
system in the future.
The Aljustrel plant, mothballed in 1993,
is being completely overhauled
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