[miningmx.com] — FIRST Uranium Corporation announced Friday that its Ezulwini mine shaft moiling and upgrade program has made significant progress and as a result, a key production restraint has been removed.
The moiling (clearing) program was initiated after the shaft capacity was restricted due to lateral pressures experienced in December 2010 that created pinch points along the shaft’s hanging tower structure. This necessitated a reduction in winding speeds for all conveyances ranging from between two and four metres per second through the hanging tower, it said.
The shaft is now operating at the targeted speeds with man and material conveyances now travelling at up to seven meters per second.
The material handling capacity of the shaft has also been significantly improved. The improved speeds mean that the material handling capacity of the shaft has increased with immediate effect from 110 cars in a nine hour cycle to 135 cars a cycle, an increase of 23%.
First Uranium President and CEO, Deon van der Mescht, said, “This represents a step change in our overall production ramp up program. By addressing the winder speeds of key conveyances, we have removed one of the key obstacles to achieving our production targets.
“This concludes Phase 1 of the moiling program and we will continue with the planned maintenance program and shaft up-grade program, which will facilitate further increases in winding speeds to ensure that shaft capacity keeps pace with the planned production ramp-up.”
At present, current winding speeds are sufficient to hoist the planned tonnages and do not represent a production constraint, it said.
