Ore and waste rock is mined in 10 metre benches by conventional open pit methods primarily from the West Branch pit. Tasiast currently operates a load and haul fleet of 46 CAT 793D (220 ton) trucks, five Komatsu 785 (92 t) and five CAT 6060 shovels plus two RH340B excavators. Blasting techniques, including presplit and buffer hole blasting, are employed to protect the pit walls.
Ore and waste rock is mined by conventional open pit methods from two pits (West Branch and Piment). Prior mining has taken place in West Branch, Piment and several other smaller pits at Tasiast. From September 2010, when Kinross acquired the property to the end of 2022, a total of 821 million tonnes of material have been mined from various pits, including 53 million tonnes in 2016, 75 million tonnes in 2017, 87 million tonnes in 2018, 85 million tonnes in 2019, 58 million tonnes in 2020, 63 million tonnes in 2021, and 61 million tonnes in 2022.
The existing shovel and haul truck fleets will be used for the duration of mining and no replacement of this equipment is anticipated. Equipment life has been projected from actual operating hours, with estimates of future usage based on the mine plan.
Waste rock is used for haul road and tailings dam construction as needed. The existing road network is well-developed, and requires continued maintenance. Additional roads will also be required throughout the life of the mine. These roads will be constructed using the current ........