Virtual Training on the Design and Use of Efficient Mercury-Free Gold Processing... Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : USA

Summary : Virtual Training on the Design and Use of Efficient Mercury-Free Gold Processing Technologies: Improving Gold Recoveries for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Miners

Deadline : 10 May 2021

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 52596359

Document Ref. No. : 1274378

Financier : World Bank (WB)

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

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Tender Details

Expression of Interest are invited for Virtual Training on the Design and Use of Efficient Mercury-Free Gold Processing Technologies: Improving Gold Recoveries for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Miners.

REQUEST FOR ExPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR SELECTION # 1274378

This Request for Expression of Interest is for a Firm Selection. Please log in as a valid Firm User if you wish to express interest in this selection.

Selection Information

Assignment Title

Virtual training on the design and use of efficient mercury-free gold processing technologies: Improving gold recoveries for Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Miners

Publication Date

26-Apr-2021

Expression of Interest Deadline

10-May-2021 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time - Washington D.C.)

Language of Notice

English

Selection Notice

Assignment Country

· No Countries Assigned

Funding Sources

The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment/services under:

· BB - BANK BUDGET

· TF0B3823 - EGPS-2 Emergency Response - Artisanal Mining Communities Impacted by COVID-19

Individual/Firm

The consultant will be a firm.

Assignment Description

Task Description

As mentioned above miners in ASGM cite a lack of financing or access to capital and access to tools and equipment as being their top constraints. Miners in ASGM are often unable to access finance to acquire more efficient mining and processing equipment which they need to increase ore production as well as to improve recoveries of gold; both of which are critical for increasing miners incomes. Financing for ASM has not been forthcoming because creditors often lack the ability to assess credit risk without miners being able to demonstrate reliable long term cash flow projections based on technical assumptions. Miners are often unable to put up sufficient collateral to offset loans and they often operate on ground for which they hold no legal title. Miners in ASGM also lack the capacities and skill-sets to manage projects according to international standards and best practices, a pre-condition for many investors. Although a number of different initiatives have been piloted to test models and approaches for financing artisanal and small-scale mining operations, most have failed to yield sustainable results and many have failed to properly take into account the opportunity cost for investors.

Low levels of technology and poor geo-prospecting in ASGM tend to lead to low productivity, reduced incomes and an inability to accumulate funds and return investments to creditors. A lack of capital traps miners in rudimentary, inefficient mining and processing techniques with low returns. Poor quality of life and health due to dangerous working conditions and practices exacerbate the poverty cycle further. These factors are compounded by a large number of miners competing for limited land and resources, keeping them trapped in the informal economy. Rudimentary and inefficient equipment and mine practices contribute to environmental degradation, chemical pollution, wasteful practices, and high grading of deposits which leads to the sterilization of ore deposits.
For many miners access to finance provides the means to acquire better equipment which would enable them to recover more gold, process a larger tonnage of material and derive a larger income for less time worked. However, most countries lack local capacity to produce appropriate technology for ASGM, and many have imposed restrictive fiscal terms on importing technology such as high import duties. There is still widespread lack of knowledge among miners about the benefits of adopting more efficient and environmentally sustainable technologies in their operations.

Equipment which is often cited as being of critical importance to miners in ASGM includes wet pan mills (low cost-grinding solution such as the Changfa and Chilean mill), small jaw crushers, small balls mills, compressors, water pumps, centrifugal concentrators, dry washers, sluices with appropriate carpets, spiral concentrators etc. The equipment most in demand is relatively light-weight and mobile, simple in design, easy to install and operate, low cost to run and can be maintained with parts sourced from almost anywhere.
An alternative approach, and the reason for this TOR, is to train and empower local miners and fabricators with the skills to build efficient mercury-free crushing and grinding equipment and gravity separation equipment from materials they can source locally at low cost. Low cost-efficient technologies enable miners to process more gold bearing material for less effort (and less risk from occupational health and safety) which increases the volume of gold they produce and the daily incomes of miners. This is further compounded by improved gold recoveries for less work without depending on the use of harmful chemicals and substances including mercury. It also means miners dont have to be immersed in water manually sieving tonnes of gravel per day (in alluvial deposits) or manually crushing and pulverizing tonnes of rock per day (at hard rock deposits). Increased earnings should feed into more sustainable livelihoods which can foster broader community benefits where miners can invest profits from gold mining in education and healthcare for family members, farming and crops, housing and other profitable ventures. Monies saved by miners can repay debts and can be invested in larger equipment to scale-up processing capabilities if needed. Higher incomes will also help miners, their families and their communities build resilience to negative shocks such as Covid.

The project will involve virtual training on the design and responsible use of efficient mercury-free mineral processing technologies to help miners in ASGM improve gold recoveries, increase production and generate more income. This will involve the production of a number of instructional videos on how to fabricate low-cost and easy-to-use gold processing equipment (including gravity separation equipment) which will be suited to hard rock and alluvial gold deposits. The videos will facilitate knowledge and technology transfer to local fabricators and blacksmiths on how to fabricate and build different pieces of equipment needed in ASGM. The instructional videos may be shared through the Delve Exchange to more than 300 mining Associations and cooperatives across more than 65 countries. Documents and sketches outlining the specifications of different equipment will also be made available online in different languages to accompany the instructional videos.
The successful firm may partner with other firms and can use consultants. The firm will need to make it clear in the Technical Proposal how the partnership will work and which consultants, if any, will be drawn upon for the project.

Specifically, the Task team is seeking the following to be performed:

1. Compile an Inception report outlining a list of gold processing equipment which the firm will fabricate for later demonstration mine-site. The inception report will detail what equipment will be manufactured having reviewed all available design options which are publicly available and which have no patent restrictions. The inception report will also provide a detailed methodology of how equipment will be built and materials for constructing the equipment sourced. Criteria for selecting equipment to be fabricated can consider the following characteristics: mobile, simple in design, simple to operate, simple to maintain with parts that can be sourced locally (in most countries) and low-cost to operate. The inception report will also need to outline how it will record the instructional videos and how many videos it plans to produce. No design of any equipment under patent can be copied as part of the project. The report will have an M&E Plan.

2. Fabrication of gold processing equipment using low-cost materials that can be sourced in most hardware stores in low-income countries. The successful firm will use an experienced fabricator or engineer who has worked in the design and fabrication of mineral processing equipment. Instructional videos will be taken of all stages of the fabrication process for each piece of equipment. For larger items such as crushers or mills (if selected for fabrication) a several part video series could be developed (e.g., mobile jaw crusher build - parts 1-4). This task will also involve the drafting an instruction manual on how to build the equipment including specifications as well as a user manual.

3. Demonstration phase with instructional video recordings on a mining site showing how to use the equipment in a safe and environmentally responsible manner in order to optimize gold recoveries. It is recommended for the demonstration phase that different pieces of fabricated equipment be used together in combined small-scale processing plant/wash-plant. The videos should show the equipment is set-up and used to maximize gold recoveries and why the equipment is superior in recovering gold for that deposit type and for the type of gold mineralization compared to other techniques. Emphasis in the demonstration videos should also cover how to set up the processing area and the site in relation to waste storage areas and settling ponds to ensure the use of the mining equipment is done in a responsible manner.

4. Dissemination of knowledge products to ASM networks to disseminate to members. Knowledge products can include: posters, videos, blogs, stories, interviews, television and radio, publications, hashtags and twitter, newsjacking, social media comms, infographics etc. Equipment design specifications and videos will also be sent to the Delve Exchange Associations and cooperatives that are part of the Delve Exchange.

5. Final report summarizing the project. An important part of the final report will be to look at the sustainability of this the project approach

Documents

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