A PEA production schedule, based on a 1,500,000 t/a mill feed rate, has been developed for the La Loutre project based on an open pit mine plan. Mining will be carried out by the owner-operator through a 365-day operation. The pit phases are engineered based on the results of an economic pit limit analysis.
A minimum mining width between pit phases is reserved to maintain a suitable mining platform for efficient mining operations. This width is established based on equipment size and operating characteristics. For this study, the minimum mining width generally conforms to 40 m.
Pit designs are based on the digging reach of the excavators (6 m operating bench) with double benching between highwall berms. The berms therefore are separated vertically by 12 m.
The description of the detailed pit designs and phases uses the following naming conventions:
- The EV Zone is divided into two pit areas, North and South.
- The EV North pit includes a starter pit designated with the number “1” (i.e., EV-N1) while the total pit is designated with the number “2” (i.e., EV-N2)
- The EV South Zone has a small pit (designated “EV-S”) with a 38-degree overall slope to accommodate multiple roads on each highwall.
- The Battery Zone is developed as two pits, designated as “B North” (i.e., B-N) and “B South” (i.e., B-S).
PIT EV-N1
Pit EV-N1 is a starter phase that mines the south end of the EV total pit. The south wall is commonw ........