Mining Intelligence and News
Tanzania

Bulyanhulu Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Copper
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Longhole stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Bulyanhulu gold mine consists of an underground mine, a process plant, waste rock dumps, tailings containment, water management ponds and associated facilities.

As of February 29, 2024, Draslovka a.s., a provider of sustainability-led technologies, reagents and services for mining and the energy transition, announced the start of commercial use of its revolutionary glycine leaching technology for gold, GlyCat™, at Barrick’s Buylanhulu operation in Tanzania.

At Bulyanhulu Gold Mine, the GlyCat pilot program has led to an 80% reduction in cyanide consumption while achieving gold recoveries that are comparable with traditional cyanidation, Draslovka says. With GlyCat as part of the process, the mine’s tailings show undetectable levels of WAD and are free of cyanide, thereby reducing detoxification requirements and costs.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Government of Tanzania 16 % Indirect
Barrick Gold Corp. 84 % Indirect
Twiga Minerals Corporation Ltd. (operator) 100 % Direct
On September 17, 2019, Barrick acquired all of the Acacia Mining plc., and Acacia became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barrick called Barrick TZ Limited.

On January 24, 2020, Barrick announced that the Company had ratified the creation of Twiga Minerals Corporation, the operating company formed to manage the Tanzania mines. Effective January 1, 2020, the GoT received a free carried shareholding of 16% in each of Barrick’s Tanzanian mines (Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi and North Mara).

Deposit type

  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

Bulyanhulu is a narrow-vein gold mine containing gold, silver and copper mineralisation in sulphides. Mineralisation of Bulyanhulu is associated with steeply dipping Argillite units referred to as Reefs. To date, several distinct reefs have been identified, including Reef Zero, Reef One and Reef Two.

The main rock types in the mine area are bimodal mafic and felsic volcanics rocks of the West Kahama segment of the Nyanzian age Kahama Greenstone Belt. The mafic rocks are predominantly flows, overlain by a series of felsic pyroclastics and ash tuffs. Argillites occur within the mafic flows and at the mafic/felsic contact and are the principal host for the mineralization. Mafic dykes/sills, commonly lensoid along their northwest strike, are a significant part of the lithological package southwest of the deposit itself. The Bukoli Granite, which separates the Kahama belt from the Rwamagaza belt to the west, lies approximately 3 km southwest of the mine. Together with regional faults, the Bukoli Granite forms the bounds of a rhomboid-shaped greenstone domain at Bulyanhulu.

The gold mineralization, together with copper sulphides and silver, occurs in quartz veins localized along steeply-dipping structures parallel to the regional northwest strike. Nine of these extensive quartz vein systems have been discovered so far with Reef 1, hosted by a shear zone developed preferentially along the most extensive sedimentary unit, the most significant. The ore is characterized by sub continuous lenses and veins of black quartz concentrated in narrow shear zones. An initial stage of syn-depositional barren clastic pyrite has been identified, overprinted by a polymetallic hydrothermal event associated with gold and copper mineralization. Alteration, dominantly carbonatization with the major introduction of Fe, Ca, As, Zn and S, is largely restricted to <5 m around the mineralized quartz veins. Initial fluid inclusion studies suggest the mineralizing fluid was carbonic and methane-bearing at 300-450C.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

In Q4 2017, mine was placed under care and maintenance. Bulyanhulu is running on tailings. Underground mining was successfully restarted at Bulyanhulu in Q4 2020.
CommodityProductUnits2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Gold Metal in conc./ doré koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe175289274
Copper Metal in concentrate k lbs 3,9066,3916,308
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021202020192018201720162015
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe596 kt909 kt993 kt
Tonnes processed  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,103 kt1,899 kt1,622 kt2,583 kt2,361 kt
Daily processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20242023202220212020201920182017
Cash costs (sold) Gold USD 599 / oz **   840 / oz **  
Total cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 709 / oz  
Total cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 676 / oz **  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 806 / oz  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 773 / oz **  
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Gold USD 786 / oz **   1,373 / oz **  
All-in costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 873 / oz  
All-in costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 840 / oz **  
^ Guidance / Forecast.
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency20232022202120202019
UG mining costs ($/t mined) USD 86.4  96.1  91.7  36.8  
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Financials

Units2023202220212020201920182017
Growth Capital M USD  ....  Subscribe
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2.6   3.2   9  
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 7   5.1   45.6  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 53   53.7   137  
Operating Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -19  
EBIT M USD -31   -900.1  
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -7.9   -15.7  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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AV - Autonomous

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 29, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 29, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 29, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 29, 2024
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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 29, 2024

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required 2021

Aerial view:

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