MADRID, SPAIN: W Resources Plc, the tungsten, copper and gold mining company with assets in Spain and Portugal, has confirmed that commissioning of the Jig and Mill Plant has commenced at La Parrilla in Spain.
The Jig and Mill Plant will upgrade the La Parrilla ore, efficiently reject barren material, and prepare material for feed to the Concentrator Plant. W Resources will feed 100% of the output of the Jig and Mill Plant once fully commissioned to the existing Concentrator Plant with upgraded and milled mine feed allowing a significant upgrade in production rates.
In parallel, the new large scale Concentrator Plant has advanced over the last three weeks with 90% of all structural steel and primary equipment now on-site and being installed. The large Concentrator Plant is scheduled for construction completion this quarter.
The mine is primed for scale-up with preparatory grade control drilling completed and the ramp from the Fast Track Mine (FTM) area to the Crusher Plant also completed. The first hard rock blasting of the 10m benches in the FTM area is also scheduled for this month. The mining contract will be executed this month and the mining fleet mobilisation is underway.
Michael Masterman, Chairman of W Resources, commented: “The commencement of commissioning the La Parrilla Jig and Mill Plant following construction completion is a very important milestone as we advance to full completion of the 2 million tonne per annum plant. We expect to be able to feed crushed ore to the Jig and Mill Plant in late April and then process it through our existing Concentrator Plant. This will allow a significant increase in near term tungsten and tin production capacity and also allows us to ensure smooth autonomous operation of the Jig and Mill Plant ahead of commissioning of the new large scale Concentrator Plant later this quarter.
“The Concentrator Plant construction has accelerated rapidly following delivery of the bulk of the structural steel and is scheduled for mechanical completion this quarter. The contractor, allmineral Aufbereitungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG (“allmineral”) of Germany, is on a fixed price fixed schedule contract and whilst there has been a delay in the delivery of steel which has had a negative impact on the schedule of the Jig and Mill and Concentrator Plants, there is no adverse impact on budget as the cost of the plants are fixed. Overall the project continues to track below budget including contingency.”[the_ad id=”31605″]