Tschudi Copper Heap Leach Project

Project Overview

The Tschudi Copper Mine is an open pit copper mine located about 20 km west of Tsumeb towards the north of Namibia. The heap leach pad consists of 18 cells, each 60-m-wide by 500-m-long, giving an overall pad 1,100 m by 500 m in plan. The pad has a composite clay/HDPE liner overlain by a granular drainage layer incorporating a network of slotted drainage pipes. The solution ponds are double lined with HDPE incorporating a seepage interception layer over clay bedding. The stormwater and raw water ponds have a single HDPE liner. The pad will be stacked in 4 m lifts for weathered oxide ore and 6 m lifts for unaltered ore to a final height of 36 m.

Project Role

Knight Piésold was appointed by Weatherly International PLC to design a heap leach pad for the bankable feasibility study of the Tchsudi Copper Mine. Services included:

• Heap leach pad design for bankable feasibility study
• Bill of quantities and CAPEX estimates
• Tendering and construction drawings
• Ongoing quality assurance and technical support during construction

The project involved a bankable feasibility study, which included geotechnical investigation and laboratory testing of both construction materials and leached ore, followed by detailed design and construction monitoring of the heap leach pad, drainage system and collection channels, PLS, ILS, stormwater, raffinate, SX event, and raw water ponds line.