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Mill Overhaul
Newmont Waihi Gold’s mill has produced very little gold and silver this year but the
workers out there at Baxters Road are busier than they have ever been.
The processing plant is having a major overhaul. Just some of the works include:
• stripping and overhauling the SAG and ball mill motors
• emptying, cleaning repairing and repainting the leach tanks
• removing and lining the elution column and replacing the carbon transfer vessel
• cleaning and overhauling the tailings lines and pumps
• Finite Element Study on the SAG Mill to enable us to more fully understand its future
maintenance needs
• Replacement and corrosion removal of structural members in the various buildings
• Relining SAG and Ball Mills
Much of this work involves the use of large cranes, sandblasters, painting, fabrication
and welding and extra truck traffic delivering and removing equipment. There are
approximately 60 contractors as well as suppliers working with our staff to carry out
specialist tasks including Mount Maunganui Engineering, General Engineering, Porter
Engineering, ISS, Hutchins Engineering, Bay Sandblasting, Valley Sandblasting, Coastal
Sandblasting, Pollock Cranes. AWF, TRL, Kawerau Engineering, Applied Conveyors, SGS,
Baxter Electrical, Contract Resources
Most of these extra contractors are from the local area and are familiar with our operations.
As we announced midway through last year, this maintenance shutdown is an opportunity
that has arisen due to there being a gap in the supply of ore to the mill in early 2012. The
open pit is excavating limited amounts of ore to feed the mill while development continues
in the layback to the east wall of the Martha open pit. The Favona underground operation
is also providing very little ore as it has been winding down towards completion. The Trio
underground operation is scheduled to begin supplying ore later this year.
When the mill is up and running again the machinery will be optimised and updated to see
us well into the future.