On 10 January, Tiger Resources (AX:TGS) announced that it had achieved production for FY16 of 23,119t of copper cathode. While this was within updated guidance of 23.0-23.6kt, it was below earlier guidance of 25.0-26.5kt after a number of setbacks curtailed output. While 2016 therefore witnessed management fighting a series of metaphorical fires, an elegant solution to the central metallurgical problems, utilising the newly established tank leach capacity from the earlier de-bottlenecking exercise, has stabilised Tiger and leaves it poised for an eventual recovery in output to 32.5ktpa.
Tribulations and solutions
Tiger’s tribulations included the run-of-mine heap going ‘blind’ during FY16 as a result of excessive fine material forming an impenetrable layer to the leach solvent and resulting in significant delay to the recovery of metal. While the short-term solution was to scarify and re-mine the heap, the more elegant longer-term solution was to utilise newly established tank leach capacity to treat the fines that would otherwise have been directed towards the heap. This re-engineering of the process flow route will coincide with the restart of mining at the main Kipoi pit. At the same time, management is to use a small decant pond relating to the tank leach circuit as an intermediate leach solution pond, while construction of a new (permanent) pond is brought forward in mitigation of the acid leak from the existing pond in October.
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