On July 26th, after six months of development, Mine Operations celebrated the major milestone of handing over of the C-Zone Gyratory Crusher (Gyro) Chamber to the Capital Projects team. The development process started on January 30th, and the Gyro Chamber required 3,700 cubic metres of rock to be excavated, 190 pieces of screen put up, 2,500 bolts installed, and 340 cubic metres of shotcrete sprayed, all resulting in an excavated chamber 27m x 11m x 12m in size.
Development Shift Supervisor Derrick Morritz said “I’d like to recognize our crews for their commitment to completing this milestone safely and following the Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) that was implemented for that zone. As well, I’d like to recognize the teamwork that Development and Rehab teams showed in working side by side to get the job done.” Rehab & Construction Lead Hand Dustin Gordon said, “congratulations to everyone involved for their teamwork through the project; everyone worked together so well. We also worked with our Geotech team to switch to a long support standard to ensure that we had the proper ground support installed.” Mine Ops General Supervisor Clint Gill added that “this milestone takes us one step closer to getting our belt moving. Until then we will be trucking ore to the sizer, but once the Gyro comes online it will be a major step forward for our extraction from C-Zone.”
The Development and Rehab and Construction teams as well as the greater New Afton organization would like to thank everyone involved in achieving this milestone for exemplifying New Gold’s Values of Commitment and Teamwork through their hard work in the development of our new production zone.
Since handover of the Gyro in late-July, Thyssen Mining (TMCC) has been prepping and pouring the concrete pad for the contractor to drill the surge bin for the gyratory crusher. We look forward to keeping everyone up to date as this project progresses.
