Pensana plc (LON:PRE) has published the following Operational Update:
Following the recent ground-breaking ceremony, the Project Delivery Teams for each of Saltend and Longonjo projects have been finalising the detailed construction and fabrication specifications for all critical path items across each of the operations in order to maintain the planned construction and execution schedule.
Saltend
The Company has taken occupation of the Reedmere site and Wood has taken on the role of Principal Designer and Principal Contractor.
Wood has finalised the Process Design, optimised the Site Layout Plan and has increased its multi-discipline engineering team to 65 people which is implementing the long lead time packages including:
· FRP Settlers
· Agitators (Mixer Pumpers)
· FRP Tanks
· Bagging Units
· Scrubbers
Wood has mobilised its early construction management team and appointed the early enabling works contracts for site preparation, pioneering facilities, security and the third party works by Yorkshire Water.
Over-the-fence service packages being supplied by px Engineering which include tie-ins to power, water, steam, compressed air and effluent are underway.
Longonjo
The Wood RSA and Owners Team complement now stands at 50.
Orders have been placed for the fabrication and delivery of the following long lead time items;
· tailings storage facility
· power supply and substation
· acid plant
· calciner & dryers
· flotation plant
· reagents handling
· comminution circuit
· thickeners
· earthworks & civils
· filters & nano filtration
· potable water supply
Fabrication of the construction camp and associated infrastructure upgrades required to the existing exploration camp (water, power, sewerage) is underway.
ESG
All workstreams supporting the Saltend operations environmental approval are completed.
Compensation agreements for the subsistence agricultural activities displaced by the early works areas in Longonjo have been concluded. Livelihood restoration activities within the mining licence are taking shape with the commencement of trial farming plots to assess yield improvement towards providing a sustainable local food supply to the Longonjo operations workforce.
Operational readiness
Recruitment of key operational personnel for both Saltend and Longonjo is underway with local agencies. This intention is for key operators to be part of the construction process to assist them moving seamlessly into commissioning.
Tim George, Pensana CEO commented:
“Following the recent ground breaking ceremony we are delighted to have moved out of the study phase and into the construction phase for both projects. We now have a multi-disciplinary team of over 120 engineers working across both projects.
Our Project Delivery Teams led by Hamish Westwater for Saltend and Kevin Botha for Longonjo are working closely with our main contractors on the long lead items and the other preparatory work ahead of the main construction.
Both projects are fully permitted, operationally robust with fit-for-purpose technical solutions for both Angola and the UK. The value engineering exercise we undertook early this year has given us confidence that we can maintain the overall project time line and budget in an environment of significant inflationary pressure.
We look forward to providing regular updates on the progress of the construction from both projects.”
