Kenya-focused miner Caracal Gold said construction work on a new heap leach plant operation at its Kilimapesa project was on schedule, with a 5,000 tpm pad for the plant already complete.

Caracal said the first heap leach pad will act as a ‘pilot plant', with the full heap leach plant operation to be expanded up to a capacity of 20,000tpm - the company has committed to increasing Kilimapesa production to 24,000oz pa.

The new heap leach operation consists of permanent HDPE (high density polyethylene) lined pads in 5,000t modules, with each of these pads to have 3-6m high lifts and be equipped with drip irrigation, said the miner

The pads will be constructed in series with a pregnant pond, carbon in solution circuit and barren pond. The carbon arising will be treated in the existing gold elution and smelting facility.

 The metallurgical test work completed for the heap leach plant showed excellent gold recoveries, and the initial recoveries from the first 5,000t processed on site are firmly in line with this.

"The commissioning of this new facility enables us to treat the 40,000t of low-grade material stockpiled over the last few months and is another key milestone in the major expansion program currently being implemented at our Kilimapesa Gold Mining and Processing Operations," said   general manager Riaan Lombard.

The company told Mining Magazine this week that expansion to the open pit and underground mining and mine development activities will ensure ROM production can support a 100% increase in the milling circuit capacity - from 500 tonnes per day to 1,000 tonnes per day. The tailings retreatment plant will also be subject to further upgrades and refurbishment work to increase throughput to 1,000 tonnes per day.

Kilimapesa successfully restarted gold production in 2020 with the first smelt taking place in September that year.