Last year, the company Zijin Copper invested around 5.55 million US dollars in geological research.
The investment paid off, as the company is on track to increase its resources by an additional 57.76 million tons, with a copper content of over 0.3 percent.
According to geologists’ estimates, there are about 340,000 tons of copper and 12 tons of gold, the company said in a statement.
Geological research and investments in this set, but in the long run a profitable job, continue this year as well, so a new drill for exploratory drilling has recently arrived in the Majdanpek mine for that reason.
In the last two years, the Geology Sector has used RC exploratory drilling as part of exploitation research at surface mines, but an external contractor has been hired for that. The dynamics of excavation at surface mines requires constant monitoring and planning of the quantity and quality of the useful component, which can be a problem in less explored parts of the deposit. The new machine will help in such situations, because geologists will get more precise geological information in a fast, relatively cheap and efficient way in the future.
The new drill will also enable better control of the content of useful components, e.g. copper and gold (grade control), which is already a common practice in the world.
The new “epirok” drill, which records the first working hours and meters in the Majdanpek mine, has a simple design, adapted for work on inaccessible terrain, and at the same time it is reliable and easy to service. It can reach up to 250 meters in depth, although the largest in surface mines are 100 to 150 meters. The wells that it makes, if they are not very deep, can also serve as mines in the preparatory drilling and mining works, it was announced, B92 reports.
