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GALENA MINING LTD. (“Galena” or the “Company”) (ASX: G1A) is pleased to announce that the construction progress at its Abra Base Metals Mine (“Abra” or the “Project”) has reached 73% complete as of 30 June 2022. Significant equipment arrivals over the last month include the remaining mill equipment, secondary and tertiary cone crushers, and the remaining LNG tanks. The completion of the installation of 16,000 solar panels also delivers another significant construction milestone.
Managing Director, Tony James commented, “Construction activities are rapidly progressing with concrete poured at 2,378m3 (95% complete) and structural steel installation already up to 237 tonnes (42% complete). Arrival of key overseas supplied equipment being the remaining mill equipment, secondary and tertiary cone crushers, and LNG tanks has certainly reduced risk and energised the remaining work programs.
Decline mining delays occurred over 12 days in June, when the decline intercepted an un-grouted drill hole, which produced water, requiring an increase in pumping capacity. This was quickly rectified, and the mine plans were updated to keep the mining schedule aligned with the plant construction and commissioning timeframe. Underground grade control drilling continued in June in preparation for ore mining as planned”.
Figure 1 – Abra mine construction site (photo: 28 June 2022)
Update on Abra Project progress
Overall progress continues to remain in line for Project completion followed by first commercial production in Q1 CY2023. The processing plant engineering, procurement and construction has reached 79% complete. Remaining items on the key equipment order list shown in Table 1 which are currently not received are the flotation cells and the regrind mill. The flotation cells are completed and are waiting shipping from China and the regrind mill is currently shipping from Germany and is expected in Melbourne by 12th August. The regrind mill is being shipped to Melbourne so that Glencore Technology can finalise assembly with some Australian components. The arrival of key items since the last update has enabled GR Engineering to consolidate their remaining work schedules and plans.
Mine decline development was delayed in June for 12 days when the west decline intercepted an un-grouted diamond drill hole forcing an upgrade in the mine dewatering capacity. A total of 128m was developed prior to the delay, taking the west decline down to 1,357mRL which is 44m vertically above the orebody. During the delay the mine installed its primary ventilation fan on the surface and upgraded the underground power reticulation. Once this work was completed, the hole was plugged, and mining resumed.
A revised mining plan has been completed and put in place to ensure that following this development delay, mining targets remain in line with the plant completion and commissioning timeframe.
In surface bulk earthworks, good progress was made on the tailing’s storage facility (“TSF”) during June. The final works package associated with the remaining non-processing infrastructure is progressing as planned.
Owners' costs and contingencies remain within budget.
Figure 2 - Progress of the Abra underground mine development to the 1 July (yellow).
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This article includes content from GALENA MINING LTD., licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
G1A:AU
Abra Construction At 97% Complete – First Ore Stockpiled For January Processing
Managing Director, Tony James commented, “Record underground development in November with delivery of the first 9,000t of ore to the ROM pad along with successful plant commissioning to date puts Abra on the verge of a quick transition into production. Recruitment and other operational readiness activities are well advanced in preparation for January production”.
Figure 1 – First material being tipped into the crusher during commissioning (Photo 26 November).
Figure 2 – Crushing and screening plant commissioning (Photo 26 November).
The following link will show a short video of the Abra crusher commissioning. https://youtube.com/shorts/iSG58MiW_3o
Update on Abra Project progress
Overall progress continues as planned, with first concentrate production expected in Q1 CY2023, following ore commissioning in January 2023. Practical completion of the processing plant is now expected ahead of schedule in December 2022. The processing plant engineering, procurement and construction has reached 99% complete. Piping and electrical works have made significant progress and at the end of November were 96% and 92% complete, respectively. Mechanical items installation is almost complete at 99%.
In November, the first material was crushed and screened as part of the staged commissioning process. The crushing plant ran at design capacity and all commissioning milestones were successfully achieved. Dry commissioning also progressed in most areas of the plant including water and air services, tailings and concentrate thickening, grinding and reagents. Dry commissioning of the remaining areas will be completed in December. Water commissioning commenced in the tailings and concentrate thickening areas of the plant and the remaining areas are expected to be wet commissioned by the end of December. The remaining commissioning schedule is unchanged from the last update and is shown below in Table 1.
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This article includes content from Galena Mining, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Silver Price Surges to US$37, Highest Value Since May 2011
The central bank has held its benchmark rate at 4.25 to 4.5 percent since November 2024.
Silver price, June 10 to June 17, 2025.
Chart via the Investing News Network.
CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool shows more than half of market respondents predict a 0.25 percent cut at the Fed's September meeting, while just 8 percent are expecting the Fed to make a deeper 0.5 percent cut.
The central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at its June and July meetings.
Silver's price surge also comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The two countries have come closer to war in recent days, with Israel striking nuclear and military targets deep in Iran.
On Monday (June 16), US President Trump took to Truth Social to urge a complete evacuation of Tehran ahead of planned strikes on targets in the city. He also urged Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
On the economic front, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its May consumer price index figures on June 11. The data shows inflationary growth, with the all-items index ticking up to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent in June.
Growth was tempered mainly by falling prices at the pumps. Additionally, retail prices have yet to feel the full impact of US tariffs as retailers continue to work through stockpiles acquired earlier in the year.
Elsewhere, gold and equity markets weren’t faring as well on Tuesday.
Gold was flat, trading at US$3,385 per ounce. It has surged more than 25 percent this year, setting a slew of new price records, and has continued to trade in elevated territory, fueled by the same conditions as silver’s recent run. However, silver benefits from a lower entry point for investors looking for more affordable safe-haven investments.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP: INX) was down on Tuesday, recording a 0.78 percent decline to 5,986. The Nasdaq-100 (INDEXNASDAQ: NDX) was also down, falling 0.89 percent to 21,744, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) slipped 0.68 percent to 42,222.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.