MINE
TAGLINE
OF THE MONTH – IAMGOLD ROSEBEL
The rose of
Suriname
IAMGOLD’s recently-acquired Rosebel mine has
expanded its reserves and is presently evaluating its
second major expansion since start-up in 2004
“The Rosebel mine was
acquired in November
2006 when IAMGOLD
bought Cambior”
10 Mining Magazine July 2007
10,12-13MM0707.indd 10
T
HE Rosebel mine lies in the former Dutch
colony of Suriname in northeast South
America, some 100 km south of the capital,
Paramaribo. The site represents the most
significant mining operation in the country
aside from the bauxite operations of Suralco at Mo-
engo.
The Rosebel mine was acquired in November 2006
when IAMGOLD bought Cambior. Cambior had
begun its involvement in the Rosebel project in 1994
by earning a 50% interest through the funding of
exploration and development. In 2002, it acquired
the remaining interest in the project from Golden
Star Resources Ltd.
In 2003, the final construction and development of
a 14,000 t/d mine began, which were completed on
time and on budget in February 2004, at a cost of
DRILLING
Production drilling is accomplished by a fleet of
10 drills, drilling 150 mm-diameter holes. The drill
fleet consists of four Driltech (Sandvik) D40s and
six Driltech D45s.
Some of the rock, chiefly laterite and saprolite,
is so highly weathered that it does not require
blasting in order to be excavated. All rock,
however, must be drilled and sampled to
delineate the ore zones.
The soft rock is drilled using rotary bits, while
transition and hard rock (beneath the saprolite) is
drilled using down-the-hole hammer bits.
Transition and hard rock requires blasting.
Explosives are manufactured on site by Orica.
During wet weather, a blend of 70:30 (emulsion
to ANFO) is used. In the dry season, it is possible
to use ANFO in some areas. Explosives
consumption is typically 0.20 kg/t.
US$95 million. Only 14 months elapsed from the
pouring of the first concrete to the pouring of the
first gold.
Throughput was then increased to 22,000 t/d in
2005 following debottlenecking and a circuit
expansion programme to process harder ores as the
pit deepened.
IAMGOLD owns 95% of the participating share
capital of the operating company, Rosebel Gold
Mines NV, while the remaining 5% is held by the
government of Suriname.
A Mineral Agreement, amended in March 2003,
provides the main legal framework for activities at
Rosebel.
Continued on page 12
21/6/07 13:17:21
 MINE
TAGLINE
OF THE MONTH – IAMGOLD ROSEBEL

Continued from page 11 assessed the potential for an

Among other things, it allows for underground operation at the site
the exportation and sale of gold but the results were negative and
production, capital and profit closure activities at the site continue.
repatriation and the payment of The Rosebel process consists of a
royalties. crushing and grinding circuit
followed by a conventional gravity
PROPERTY AND circuit, cyanidation circuit and
EXPLORATION carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant. The
The Rosebel mine is in the flowsheet was designed to recognise
Brokopondo district of Suriname. the need to handle soft and sticky
The concession holds six major lateritic, then saprolitic ore during
deposits and numerous gold the initial phase of mining, with the
prospects are divided between two eventual treatment of harder
distinct limbs. material from the transition
The northern limb holds the Pay (weathered andesite and metasedi-
Caro, East Pay Caro and Koolhoven/ ments) and the underlying
Bigi reserves as well as the J zone, unweathered zones.
Spin and Mama Creek anomalies. A CAT 5130B loads a dump truck at the Rosebel open-pit mine The saprolite and laterite ore
The southern limb holds the which now accounts for about 33% of
Rosebel, Mayo and Royal Hill deposits as well as the of 15 90 t-payload Caterpillar 777B and 777D models, mill feed by tonnage and is stockpiled and reclaimed
Roma and Monsanto Hill anomalies. 12 of which have been equipped with Duratray by backhoes before direct feeding into the SAG and
Last year, continuing development drilling of the suspended dump body liners to increase the payload ball mill circuit via a conveyor and apron feeder. The
existing deposits continued as well as exploration for and handle the often-sticky softer ore and avoid first harder ore was processed in 2005, and required
new deposits on the Rosebel property. carry-back. Another 17 trucks and three shovels were the installation of a new Allis Chalmers (Metso
Initial results from the J zone have been added to the fleet during 2004-06 to increase mining Minerals) 54 x 74 primary gyratory crusher, and a
encouraging. This zone lies 700 m northeast of the capacity in accordance with the higher mill stacker/conveyor system developed by the in-house
Pay Caro deposit and relatively close to the mill. throughput. Waste rock is hauled to waste stockpiles construction group.
Additional exploration was located near each pit. Ore from This project, referred to as the Rosebel Phase 2
carried out on the adjacent all mining areas is trucked construction, was completed at a final cost of
Headley’s Reef and Thunder “Given Suriname’s directly to the mill or stockpiled. US$16.5 million, some US$2.5 million below budget.
Mountain exploration permits,
as well as on the Sara Creek location near the Given Suriname’s location
near the equator, mining activity
The crushed ore from the gyratory is stockpiled using
the stacker/reclaimer system.
project, 80 km south of Rosebel
and acquired in 2005. Proven
equator, mining is affected by seasonal weather
conditions. During dry weather,
The grinding circuit was designed to take the
harder part of the mill feed and is followed by a bank
and probable reserves in early activity is affected the focus is on production of cyclones, producing 80% of ore passing 74 μm.
2007 were increased from
3.2 Moz to 3.8 Moz of gold,
by seasonal weather efficiency to reduce unit costs. It
is also critically important to
These fines become the feed to the main leach circuit
and are thickened to a 40% density solids slurry
sufficient for over 12 years of conditions” prepare for the next rainy before cyanide leaching and carbon adsorption,
continued mine operation. season. avoiding the high viscosity encountered with higher
According to IAMGOLD, During wet weather, the focus solids content. A linear screen is used to remove trash
excellent potential remains at Rosebel. Many of the is on feeding the mill and continued effort to reduce from the thickener feed which would interfere with
main deposits are open to the east and west, and at exposure to rain. Mining is carried out on benches screens in the CIL section.
depth, while the numerous anomalies remain largely 5 m in height, although near-surface ore zones are The cyclone underflow is diverted to a gravity
unexplored. mined with smaller benches. Where practical, mining concentration circuit to recover coarse free gold. The
benches are developed on a slope to facilitate gravity circuit recovers over 30% of the gold in a
EQUIPMENT AND MINING drainage. gravity concentrate suitable for direct smelting. Three
Loading and hauling are controlled through a truck stages of concentration are employed: Reichert
dispatch system. The mining equipment is entirely PROCESSING cones, a Knelson concentrator and a Deister shaking
owned by IAMGOLD and operated by IAMGOLD The process flowchart is very similar to the one used table. The gravity tailings are returned to the SAG mill
employees. The main excavating equipment began at the Omai gold mine in Guyana. Omai closed in for further release of any missed gold particles.
as a mixed fleet consisting of two small 4 m3 September 2005 following depletion of reserves. The CIL system uses a combination of leaching
backhoes, three 10 m3 bucket capacity hydraulic During the March quarter of 2007, IAMGOLD and CIL circuits. The initial leaching section allows the
shovels (Caterpillar 5130B and 5130) and a solution gold grade to be increased before
Caterpillar 992C 10 m3 bucket-capacity wheel ROSEBEL MINE (IAMGOLD INTEREST: 95%) contact with carbon. Loaded carbon is
loader. 2007 Q1 2006 Q4 (1) recovered daily from the CIL circuit and
Generally, the smaller hydraulic backhoes Total material mined (‘000 t) 7,205 5,382 processed in a gold recovery plant. The carbon
are used for the selective excavation of soft and Ore milled (‘000 t) 1,522 1,173 is acid-washed before gold removal by elution.
transition ore. The larger hydraulic shovels are Head grade (g/t) 1.0 1.1 Gold is recovered and refined in a central gold
used for excavating the deeper harder ore and Recovery (%) 89 92 room that houses the electro-winning
waste. The front-end loader handles stockpiled Gold revenue (US$/oz)* 653 625 operation, final gravity recovery operation,
material, as well as blasted rock. Additional Direct cash costs (US$/oz) 440 358 refining furnace and gold-pouring area.
small backhoes are used for ditching and Royalties (US$/oz) 63 58 The mine tailings facility currently has a
related tasks. Caterpillar D9N and D6R dozers Total cash cost (US$/oz) 503 416 74 Mt capacity and was designed by Golder.
and D400E ADTs are used for other waste Summarised Results (100% Basis) However, it is possible to increase this by
management and construction tasks. (1) For the period November 8 to December 31 2006 expanding the dam vertically and or laterally
* Gold revenue is calculated as gold sales divided by ounces of gold sold
The main haulage fleet originally consisted into adjacent valleys. Other options include

12 Mining Magazine July 2007

10,12-13MM0707.indd 12 21/6/07 13:17:23

 TAGLINE

EARLY 2007 SETBACK

An illegal work stoppage by a number of
unionised employees in January 2007 prompted
a temporary suspension of operations.
This stoppage was resolved in mid-February
with agreement on a three year labour contract,
but resulted in a loss of approximately 20,000 oz
of gold production. The mine workers eventually
accepted a three year labour agreement, on
terms similar to those presented by the company
before the stoppage.
Standby charges of about US$1.7 million were
incurred during the strike period resulting in cost
increases on the order of US$35/oz for the first
quarter of 2007.

above budget levels excluding the impact of the facilities and tailings disposal facilities at a total
strike. estimated cost of US$60-70 million. A road and
IAMGOLD is currently evaluating plans to further equipment maintenance programme, which includes
increase production by expanding the grinding a project to improve tyre life, is expected to bring
A conveyor belt connects the circuit at a cost of some US$30 million. The retention potential savings of US$1.25 million.
hard ore stockpile to the plant time of the ore in the improved plant will be A scoping study is due for completion in August.
increased, leading to improved gold recoveries. The move would give Rosebel more operational
tailings deposition into one or more of the six mining In the mine, further expansion of the mostly flexibility, improve recovery, lower production costs
areas as they become mined out. Caterpillar mining fleet is planned as well as a new and boost production. The expansion aside, the
truck maintenance shop, fuel storage area, camp continuing life-of-mine figure will be 275,000 oz/y.
UTILITIES SUPPLY
All of the water used at the processing plant is now
recycled, so there is no need to take water from the “A
re pub
environment. Due to the relatively high average proputa licat
glo vid tion ion
ba ing an wit
annual rainfall of 2.2 m, some water (including rain l m tr d e h
ini ust sta a si
ng wo bl gn
falling on the tailings for example) needs to be act rth ish ific
iv y ed an
– E ities info bac t
treated before it can be released into the environ- ero
Ha
” rm kgr
ma ati ou
on nd
lain
ment. This is done in several steps, the last of which is en,
etsoM
on
Min
a large freshwater holding pond. More than 90% of era
ls

the process water is directly recycled from the

tailings pond, while the remaining water (for reagent
mixing, cooling and pump gland sealing, etc) is taken
Are you an efficient
from the freshwater pond.
The freshwater pond also provides water for dust
operational manager?
suppression on haul roads, and fire protection.
The Government of Suriname provides electricity
Maximise your potential
to Rosebel from the Afobaka hydroelectric station
32 km from the site. Rosebel has been allocated an with Mining Magazine
availability of 8 MW for average consumption and
A SUBSCRIPTION WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH…
12 MW for peak consumption.
Cutting-edge information from the experts on topical and controversial issues in
The company has another contract with the state the industry.
owned company EBS to provide up to 7 MW of Detailed equipment reviews and reports giving you an insight into their advantages,
additional power. Power costs are indexed to fuel problems and solutions.
prices and the gold price. Practical tips from some of the industry’s experts.
A round-up of the month’s leading stories so you are always kept up to date.
Specialised case studies focusing on regional trends.
“All of the water used at Focus on how mines and plants are being developed and operated across the

the processing plant is

globe.
Information on suppliers, forthcoming equipment shows and recruitment trends.

now recycled, so there In-depth articles examining a variety of products and techniques so you can stay
ahead of your competitors.
is no need to take water If you want to succeed in the mining industry,
from the environment” this is essential reading for YOU!
FUTURE INVESTMENTS
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£95/€160/US$170 for 12 issues
In 2006, Rosebel produced 301,000 oz and the Tel: +44 (0)20 8421 9237
Fax: +44 (0)20 8421 8244
projected figure for 2007 is 255,000 oz. This is
E-mail: subscriptions@mining-journal.com
down slightly on the original projected figure of or visit our new and improved website:
270,000 oz. www.mining-journal.com
www.mining-journal.co
During the March quarter of 2007, the Rosebel
mine produced 48,000 oz of gold at a cash cost of online…
US$505/oz, although production and costs were
adversely affected by the strike at site.
Mining during the quarter took place in lower-
M07/07/AB104

grade areas of the pits. The lower grade and resultant

recovery contributed to a marginal increase in costs

July 2007 Mining Magazine 13

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