Zambian Plants Start Processing Artisanal Gold

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  Zambia has launched a series of milling and leaching plants as part of its efforts to boost gold production from primary and secondary sources including gold bought from artisanal and small-scale miners.

According to state mining investment company ZCCM-IH, the project is part of the country’s efforts to boost informal mining of gold. Earlier, it had initiated purchase of gold through government-controlled buying centres, from artisanal and small-scale miners, as part of formalizing the unregulated sector.

The country has built as many as ten milling plants to process gold, which have a combined processing capacity of 30 tonnes of ore per day. The plants aim to produce 7.5 kilograms of gold per month. In addition, the construction of a gold leaching plant, with estimated processing capacity of 8,000 tonnes of ore material per leach, is expected to be completed in May this year. The plant will process gold stock piles from two old gold mines and concentrates from the milling plants.

ZCCM-IH currently buys gold for a minimum of $33.33 per gram. The prices could go higher, depending on their purity. It targets to produce 25 kilograms of gold per month from its milling and leaching plants by the end of the current year.

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