HARARE - Mwana Africa plc (Mwana) says construction of a pilot plant at its gold miner Freda Rebecca (Freda) has begun with commissioning expected in the third quarter of the year.

The AIM-listed resources group said significant progress has been made in the evaluation of the economic potential of the tailings storage facilities, which are part of the project.

The pilot plant would be used to gather data and conduct variability test work, which determines optimum operating conditions and design parameters for a potential future larger scale facility.

Kalaa Mpinga, Mwana’s chief executive, said the initial results from the test work on the tailings were encouraging.

“Should the results from the pilot plant prove that retreatment of the tailings is viable, a full-scale tailings retreatment plant has the potential to contribute significantly to yearly gold production at Freda,” he said.

Since Freda Rebecca started production in 1988, significant tailings had been deposited over three main storage facilities in the mine lease area.

A non-compliant indication of the available tonnage contained within the targeted north and south tailings facilities are estimated at 13,5 million tonnes. - Business Writer