• Data Access
  • Your Email  
  • Your Email  
Keep me signed in.
Forgot your password?
Close
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Enter the email you signed up with and we'll email it to you.
  • Your Email  
Close
Back
MDO
Mining Data Solutions
  • Home
  • Database
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
Laos
Phu Kham Mine

This page is not tailored to
devices with screen width under 750 px.
 Location:
71 km SW from Phonsavan, Laos

  Regional Office:
7th Floor, Capital Tower, 23 Singha Road PO Box 5559
Vientiane
Laos
5559
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax+856-21-268-029
WebsiteWeb
Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors
Drill results over 30 g/t Au
Stay on top of recent discoveries.
Search drill results by commodity and grade.
Largest mines in the Americas
Mining and mill throughput capaciites.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Deepest underground mines
Shaft depth and mill throughput data.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Heavy mobile equipment
HME type, model, size and quantity.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Permitting and construction projects
Projects at the permitting or construction stage. Full profiles of select projects.
Mines with remote camps
Camp size, mine location and contacts.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Mines & projects in Laos
A list of country's mines and projects.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

Thank you for browsing through mine profiles compiled by the Mining Data Online team.

Would you like to subcribe or schedule a Demo?
  • Name:
     
  • Company:
     
  • Position:
     
  • Phone:
  • Email:
  • Message:

Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Flotation
Mine Life3 years (as of Jan 1, 2018)


Owners

Source: p. 4
CompanyInterestOwnership
Government of Laos 10 % Indirect
PanAust Ltd. 90 % Indirect
Phu Bia Mining Ltd. (operator) 100 % Direct
PanAust owns a 90 per cent interest in the Lao-registered company, Phu Bia Mining Limited (‘Phu Bia Mining’ or ‘PBM’). The Government of Laos owns the remaining 10 per cent.

Phu Bia Mining Ltd. (PBM), manages the Phu Kham and copper-gold mine and Ban Houayxai gold-silver mine.

Deposit Type

  • Skarn
  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork
  • Porphyry


Summary:

The Phu Kham deposit represents a copper-gold porphyry system, with mineralisation present in skarn, stockwork and disseminated styles. Significant folding and alteration events have created a complex heterogeneous mineralogy horizon. Weathering and water table contact have created a leached zone, overlying transition zones with supergene chalcocite- dominant secondary copper mineralisation and clay-rich gangue. Primary ore copper mineralisation is mainly chalcopyrite with minor bornite. The major challenges to the copper-gold fl otation process are a wide size distribution of chalcopyrite mineralisation and poor primary grind liberation, a high pyrite content in skarn ore requiring aggressive pyrite depression conditions, clay-rich gangue and nonsulfi de copper mineralisation in weathered zones, and a signifi cant association of gold with pyrite.

Mineralisation is present in iron-rich skarns, silica-rich stockwork, and altered disseminated styles. Chalcopyrite and bornite are the dominant primary copper minerals in skarn, stockwork, and disseminated mineralisation. Gangue mineralogy is mainly quartz, mica and pyrite, with signifi cant kaolinite clay and talc-related magnesium silicate content within the weathered zones.

A gold-enriched oxide zone on the Phu Kham orebody was the resource for the heap leach gold mine which was built and operated by Phu Bia Mining during the 2005 to 2010 period. Below the oxide zone, there is a zone of supergene weathering, with copper leached from the oxide zone re-precipitated in contact with pyrite grains as particles and coatings of chalcocite and covellite, with minor enargite and tennantite copper arsenic sulfi des. Signifi cant copper enrichment in the oxide and supergene zones is also present as oxide and native copper species.

Skarns are present as replacement of carbonate minerals, with disseminated grains of chalcopyrite and bornite in banded to massive pyrite skarns and veinlets containing pyrite, chalcopyrite and bornite in garnet, magnetite, and hematite-chlorite skarns. Pyrite skarns are common throughout the mineralised system.

Stockwork mineralisation is present as fine fractures in quartz veins. The fractures host pyrite, chalcopyrite and bornite sulfi de minerals. Minor chalcopyrite mineralisation is also present in quartz-carbonate veins. Disseminated mineralisation consists of scattered grains of bornite and chalcopyrite in sericite altered host rock.

Gold occurs as small grains associated with pyrite and copper sulfi des throughout the mineralised system.

Mineralisation is present in iron-rich skarns, silica-rich stockwork, and altered disseminated styles. Chalcopyrite and bornite are the dominant primary copper minerals in skarn, stockwork, and disseminated mineralisation. Gangue mineralogy is mainly quartz, mica and pyrite, with signifi cant kaolinite clay and talc-related magnesium silicate content within the weathered zones.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

The Phu Kham operation consists of a copper gold mine using conventional shovel mining and truck haulage to the concentrator.


Crushing and Grinding
Flow Sheet: Source


Processing

  • Flotation

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

The Operation comprises an open-pit mine feeding ore to a conventional milling and flotation operation which produces a copper and precious metals concentrate for export to custom smelters mainly in Asia.

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter201920182017201620152014
Copper Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required81.481.579.977.476.9
Copper Head Grade, %  ......  Subscription required0.540.60.580.530.5
Copper Concentrate Grade, %  ......  Subscription required232323
Gold Head Grade, g/t  ......  Subscription required0.230.250.280.330.22
Gold Concentrate Grade, g/t  ......  Subscription required699
Silver Head Grade, g/t  ......  Subscription required2.152.332.21.91.49
Silver Concentrate Grade, g/t  ......  Subscription required476060

Production:

CommodityProductUnits201920182017201620152014
Copper Metal in concentrate M lbs  ......  Subscription required184199197173157
Copper Concentrate kt  ......  Subscription required358388384340311
Gold Metal in concentrate oz  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Silver Metal in concentrate oz  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics2019201820172016201520142013
Total tonnes mined 47,217,232 t52 Mt55.5 Mt57 Mt55.8 Mt52,263,138 t42,842,720 t
Ore tonnes mined 16,823,662 t21 Mt19 Mt20.3 Mt17.8 Mt18,079,056 t21,018,966 t
Tonnes processed 18,254,200 t19 Mt18.5 Mt19.1 Mt19.2 Mt18,639,887 t18,286,148 t
Annual milling capacity 16 Mt
Stripping / waste ratio 1.9 1

Reserves at December 31, 2014:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGrade
Proven 88 Mt Copper 0.54 %
Proven 88 Mt Gold 0.24 g/t
Proven 88 Mt Silver 1.9 g/t
Probable 42 Mt Copper 0.48 %
Probable 42 Mt Gold 0.23 g/t
Probable 42 Mt Silver 2.3 g/t
Proven & Probable 130 Mt Copper 0.52 %
Proven & Probable 130 Mt Gold 0.23 g/t
Proven & Probable 130 Mt Silver 2.1 g/t
Measured & Indicated 173 Mt Copper 0.5 %
Measured & Indicated 173 Mt Gold 0.22 g/t
Measured & Indicated 173 Mt Silver 2.1 g/t
Inferred 12 Mt Copper 0.37 %
Inferred 12 Mt Gold 0.21 g/t
Inferred 12 Mt Silver 1.9 g/t
Total Resource 184 Mt Copper 0.49 %
Total Resource 184 Mt Gold 0.22 g/t
Total Resource 184 Mt Silver 2.1 g/t

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits201920182017201620152014
Credits (by-product) Copper USD  ......  Subscription required -0.52 / lb -0.53 / lb
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Copper USD  ......  Subscription required† 1.74 / lb† 1.68 / lb† 1.6 / lb† 1.69 / lb† 2.21 / lb†
C1 cash costs Copper USD  ......  Subscription required† 1.32 / lb† 1.18 / lb† 1.1 / lb† 1.3 / lb† 1.39 / lb†
† Net of By-Product.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Heavy Mobile Equipment as of October 31, 2017:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantity
Excavator ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Loader ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required 100 t ....................... Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Oct 25, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
Annual Report 2018
Fact Sheet 2018
Quarterly Report 2018
Annual Report 2017
Corporate Presentation 2017
Quarterly Report 2017
Annual Report 2016
Annual Report 2014
Sustainability Report 2014
Year-end Mineral Reserves 2014
Year-end Mineral Reserves 2014
Other 2011
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Aerial view:

Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2017-2022 MDO Data Online Inc.