Geovic – Nickel and Cobalt Mine
- Owner: Geovic
- Project: Nickel, Cobalt and Manganese Mining and Porcessing
- Location: Nkamouna, Cameroon, Africa
- Scope: Engineering
Project Background
R&S conducted an Optimized Feasibility Study to investigate all areas for lowering costs while concurrently advancing front end engineering design (FEED), reducing risk and establishing major construction start and completion dates.
Some of the challenges facing the project team for the feasibility study are, limited local electrical supply, and very basic services and supplies. There is no telephone service, airstrip, or approved heliport, and only rudimentary medical facilities.
This is an extremely demanding project and one of the first of its kind in this part of the African continent. Apart from the above mentioned challenges there are many other issues to be overcome such as skilled labor to build and operate the mine and processing plant.
There is a huge potential of future mines within the resources–rich region. The joint venture team is very mindfull of completed the project successfuly to pave the way for other such ventures.
The Geovic Project is planned to be executed within a joint venture structure comprising Roberts & Schaefer, Bateman International Projects and Group 5 Projects.
The Geovic Project is the first of seven potential cobalt–nickel–manganese deposits to be developed and it is estimated to contain 53 million tons of proven and probable ore reserves at average grades of 0.24% cobalt, 0.72% nickel and 1.22% manganese. The ore is concentrated by simple sizing and upgraded to 0.7% cobalt, 1.0% nickel and 3.5% manganese prior to processing. The project includes a shallow open pit mine, ore concentration facilities and a 2,000 metric ton per day process plant.
The Geovic Project in Nkamouna is located in southeastern Cameroon, approximately 640 kilometers east of the port city of Douala and 400 kilometers east of the capital of Yaounde.