RE:RE:Boy theres a lot of discussion about sortersTXRogers wrote:
THound wrote: over there on ceo this morning. But I think Im with this guy:
Finally, it is worth remarking that management has recently been vocal about the testing of ore sorters to reject waste. Crux Investor reminds readers that pre-concentration does not add gold to the production schedule, rather it is a volume-reduction step that may or may not create value for shareholders. Any savings created by lowering processing costs have to be off-set against revenue losses due to less gold being recovered in the full beneficiation circuit. There will be cost savings from having reduced amounts of material needing to undergo a more expensive concentration process. Equally, such a benefit comes at the loss of gold in the pre-concentration stage as not all the gold will be recovered. Therefore, the loss of revenue may well be greater than the operating cost saving. Pre-concentration in itself is not a game-changer.
He forgot to mention the cost of sorting, but other than that hes bang on, I think. Funny how selective comprehension works over on ceo. McEwen mentioned sorters in the interview posted Friday. There are certain applications where it could be useful no doubt. And on certain metals better than others no doubt.
Hound
just being a non arsekisser on a fine Sunday in the gulch
Look at this way: The Nullagine mill processes a constant amount of ore per annum. Let's say Novo achieves the almost 2 MTa as MOY had achieved.
This remains the constant - the ore tonnage per annum that goes through the mill. So there is no reduced amount being processed. It remains maximized and constant.
What undergoes the variance is the input grade of this constant material being processed. And this is what will be extracted as revenue generating gold per tonne.
To say pre-concentration is not a game changer is erroneous. The intention is to increase revenue from gold output. Improving head grades is one the best means in accomplishing this goal.
Regarding the costs of sorting: QH mentioned 26 cents per tonne of ore based on Steinert's figures. Seems fairly economical to me. Curious that CRUX failed to mention it.
You can listen in to last yrs interview on the matter. Go to the 9 minute to 11 minute mark. Maybe some have forgotten these cost figures, but I have not.
All Based on actual trials last year. As Tomra and Steinert have progressed another year since, the costs (already negligible) may have reduced even further.
Even if the ore sorting costs double or triple, they will not add any significant amount to the AISC per tonne. But increases in head grade will increase revenues significantly in the milling operation.
Tx
There are more costs involved than those of running the stienart alone. When they say $.20 they are taliking about depreciation, labour to run it, electricity, maintenance and a few other things related to the machine and its operation alone. Yes, those costs are minimal. But theres much more to it. Theres strip, which will include drill and blast in some places such as karratha, then extract ore bearing material with minimal dilution, then it needs to be crushed, it needs to be sized properly, cleared and moved from pile to pile before transporting to BC mill, reject needs to he put back in place and reject and strip restored. A lot of handling. None of those costs are mentioned by crux. Nvo talking about .20$ is highly misleading .
You dont need to be the defendor Tx.
Ound