Precious metals are usually present in extremely low concentrations. As a result, quality control of analytical data and correct sampling procedures are even more important than in other forms of mining for calculating credible ore reserves and identifying ore in the pit. Rarely does the mining operation have visual control of ore and waste.
With complex processing flowsheets, multiple phase transitions and long residence times, it is difficult to track and account for metal in the plant to understand and optimize plant performance.
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Key Precious Metals Mining Challenges
Ventyx can help mining organizations address the following challenges:
- Metal accounting challenges – The scarcity and unreliability of measures and plant lag times make metal accounting time-consuming and often unrepeatable. A rigorous metal accounting solution adopting best practice approaches, such as AMIRA P754, addresses both of these challenges.
- Meeting regulations – Gold miners are increasingly subscribing to voluntary cyanide handling regulations to protect the health of workers and the environment. However, this requires additional monitoring in a number of areas of the operation.
- Tracking shipments, contracts and invoicing – Due to the high value of the products shipped it is essential to track them in a systematic and auditable way. The high values often result in complex contract conditions, such as assay exchange rules, which need to be tracked and managed too.