Resource World Magazine

D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 47 dundee Sustainable Technologies to provide cyanide-free extraction process to argentina Pierre Gauthier, President and CEO, reports Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc. [DST-CSE] recently concluded a MOU with the government of San Juan, Argentina to implement its pro- prietary cyanide and mercury-free ore extraction technologies. To date, the company has been awarded $5.7 million in grants to build a demonstration plant, currently under construction in Thetford Mines, Québec, of which $700,000 was furnished by the government of Québec and $5 million by the government of Canada through the Sustainable Development Technology Fund. Plans call for Dundee to build a laboratory and pilot plant in Argentina as well as provide technical training of local people and the development of necessary infrastructure, including the treatment of arsenic. Dundee has developed proprietary hydrometallurgical pro- cesses for the extraction of base and precious metals from ores, concentrates and tailings that are not suitable for conventional extraction processes due to internal refractoriness, environmen- tal considerations or laws banning the use of cyanide. Using a closed-circuit, bromine-assisted, chlorination pro- cess, over the past 10 years Dundee has tested the ores from more than 50 oxide and sulphide gold deposits from some two dozen countries in its lab and pilot plant. Results have demon- strated gold recoveries of well over 90% with the added benefit of the tailings that meet environmental requirements; tailings are inert from toxic substances. To date, the company has obtained 25 patents in 19 coun- tries for its chemical technologies for the recovery of base and precious metals as well as the neutralization of arsenic and pro- duction of fertilizer. Dundee has 14 pending patent applications worldwide for its technologies. n The pilot plant at Thetford Mines, Québec. Photo courtesy Dundee Sustainable Technologies. sufficient work under the permit to receive 'substantial comple- tion' status and the project is no longer under the Environmental Assessment Board. Once the sheet pile wall dock is installed, the SBT will be able to accommodate the unloading/loading of ships carrying general cargo and containers. Construction of the dock will also provide additional stor- age space for containers and general cargo. The existing Storage Shed #1, which currently has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes of concentrate, will be expanded to handle up to 60,000 tonnes of concentrate. The reclaim system capacity of 750 tonnes per hour, including the conveyors to the shiploader, and the shiploader itself will remain as is. "The expansion of the Port Stewart project is currently in the pre-feasibility stage. It is likely the construction will be com- pleted in time for the mine operations start-up in 2020," says Bill Wong, Project Manager at Ausenco. Gordon W. Zonailo, V P Technology, Ports and Terminals for Ausenco, told Resource World that in western Canada sev- eral ports/terminals are in the process of expansion, including Westshore Terminals, in Delta, BC; Neptune Bulk Terminals Canada Ltd., North Vancouver, BC; Ridley Terminals Inc. Prince Rupert, BC and for the Deltaport in Delta, BC. When asked how well Canada's ports are keeping up with technology, security and capacity Zonailo told Resource World, "In general they are not right at the leading edge compared to the world's leaders, because of lower capacity requirements, but they are better than most. Also they operate at closer to their maxi- mum capacity than many of the international terminals do now so they have operational challenges." Zonailo said, "There has been a major boom in the building of new and or expansion of existing iron ore and coal terminal facilities worldwide, over the past 10 years. Presently there is a lot of new but latent capacity in many locations, particularly in the Australian iron ore and coal terminals. There are new facili- ties being completed in Brazil for iron ore and Colombia for coal exports. There also is a major boom underway for new LNG facili- ties in many locations in the world, including those planned for BC." When asked which commodities are driving the need for larger port capacity, Zonailo said LNG, iron ore and coal have seen the greatest activity and capital expenditures. Some of Ausencos's past projects include the Centerm Container Terminal Expansion, Vancouver, BC; the Westridge Terminal Upgrade, Burnaby, BC and the designing of the Canaport lique- fied natural gas jetty to accommodate LNG vessels. The terminal, the first liquefied natural gas terminal in Canada, is located in the Bay of Fundy, NB, home of the highest tides in the world. Ausenco also offers greenfield services: site selection, planning of site investigations and conceptual studies through to detailed design and EPCM services. n Canaport LNG terminal, the Bay of Fundy, Saint John, New Brunswick. Photo courtesy of Canaport LNG.

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