We are pleased to announce that Xinhai Mining’s 500 t/d gold mining–processing–tailings EPC+M+O project in Zimbabwe has officially completed its first ore commissioning and entered stable production.
The successful startup marks more than the completion of a processing plant. It represents the full implementation of Xinhai’s integrated “mining–processing–tailings” service model, covering everything from metallurgical testing and mine design to equipment manufacturing, civil construction, installation, commissioning, and operational support.
(Zimbabwe 500 t/d gold EPC+M+O project aerial view)
Unlike fragmented contracting models that separate mining, processing, and tailings management, this project was delivered as one coordinated system. Mining development is progressing steadily, the processing plant is now operating commercially, and the tailings storage facility (TSF) has been fully completed and handed over.
From resource extraction to mineral processing and tailings management, the project demonstrates Xinhai Mining’s capability to deliver practical, efficient, and fully integrated mining solutions for global gold operations.
The Zimbabwe gold project holds substantial reserves: 3.543 million tonnes of ore under control, 7,943.77 kg of contained gold, and an average grade of 2.45 g/t. Xinhai's design team developed a bespoke combined open-pit and decline-developed underground mining scheme to ensure efficient resource extraction.
(gold mining EPC )
Leveraging multi-disciplinary collaboration across geology, mining, shaft construction, and electrical engineering, Xinhai Mining Design Institute delivered a fully integrated development system—haulage, ventilation, and safety infrastructure—compliant with local standards and codes. Decline development, drifts, ore passes, and raises are now advancing steadily, laying a solid foundation for full-scale mining operations.
The gold processing plant is the heart of the project and the clearest expression of Xinhai's technical strength. At 500 t/d design throughput, Xinhai's Research Institute and Design Institute jointly developed the process and equipment package after extensive metallurgical testing: a gravity–intensive leaching–cyanidation flowsheet ensuring efficient, safe, and stable operation.
The circuit comprises two-stage closed-circuit crushing, single-stage grinding, gravity concentration, intensive leaching, desorption & electrolysis, and smelting, with gravity tailings feeding secondary grinding before final leaching.
(gold processing plant-Zimbabwe)
The design incorporates several breakthrough innovations:
1.Proprietary Intensive Leaching System — Xinhai's self-developed unit improves the physicochemical conditions of cyanide leaching through physical methods, significantly boosting both leaching kinetics and gold recovery.
2.Solar Photovoltaic Power Generation — Replacing diesel gensets, the project deploys over 17,000 PV panels to create a 100,000 m²-class clean-energy array. Compared with diesel generation, power costs are reduced by approximately 75%, delivering stable, low-cost, and sustainable electricity for the African gold operation.
3.Interlocking Sandbag Blast Wall for Raw Ore Stockpile — The raw ore stockpile retaining wall uses an innovative interlocking sandbag blast wall, surfaced with a geomembrane waterproofing layer and topped with concrete hardening. Using local materials, this solution dramatically shortens civil construction timelines where ready-mix concrete is scarce and placement cycles are long.
4.Steel-Structure Equipment Foundations — Foundations and operating platforms for the crusher, vibrating screen, thickener, and leaching tanks use bolted modular steel structures, prefabricated in China and assembled on site, substantially accelerating construction.
5.Column-Mounted Jib Cranes in Crushing & Grinding Areas — Xinhai installed fixed-column jib cranes in the crushing area for crusher maintenance and at the ball mill for liner replacement and steel-ball charging. These cranes replace manual handling, enabling precise three-dimensional lifting that saves labor and lifts throughput.
6.Chinese-Style Office & Living Campus — Embracing a people-first philosophy, Xinhai created a functional yet aesthetically refined Chinese garden-style campus. The office zone is professionally laid out and finished for high-efficiency work; the living area weaves winding garden paths, rockeries, water features, and pavilions into a tranquil "oasis in the mine."
With the design finalized, Xinhai leveraged its captive 10,000-tonne mining equipment manufacturing base to produce core equipment in parallel, ensuring on-time, high-quality delivery of crushers, ball mills, leaching tanks, desorption & electrolysis systems, and thickeners to safeguard overall schedule integrity.
Thanks to sound process design and meticulous construction management, the Zimbabwe gold processing plant completed major equipment civil works in just 30 days—far outperforming the three-to-six-month norm for comparable local projects and securing two to three months of valuable schedule float. The plant has since passed its commissioning ceremony and is now in normal production.
The TSF is the lifeline of any mining project; its safety and environmental performance directly determine long-term sustainability. Drawing on professional TSF construction and operations expertise, Xinhai provided full-lifecycle services covering design, construction, and monitoring.
The project adopts wet tailings discharge, with leached tailings pumped to the TSF for regulated stacking. The TSF design integrated local topography, geology, hydrology, and tailings characteristics to optimize site selection and dam geometry, supported by comprehensive drainage and seepage-control systems to ensure safe, stable, and environmentally sound performance across the facility's entire life cycle.
(Tailings storage facility construction for Zimbabwe gold project )
During construction, Xinhai enforced standardized quality management, with full-process control and traceability over critical activities including dam-layer compaction, geomembrane placement, and drainage installation. The TSF has now been completed, providing a secure environmental barrier for future gold tailings management.
From mining through processing to tailings, the Zimbabwe 500 t/d gold project is a comprehensive validation of Xinhai Mining's EPC+M+O full-chain capability and a milestone in the company's evolution toward an integrated "Turning Mineral Resources Into Sustainable Value" service provider. Steady progress in mining design and development, successful commissioning and stable operation of the processing plant, and completion of the TSF—all reflect the ingenuity and dedication of Xinhai's project teams and the vitality of the EPC+M+O model.
Going forward, we remain committed to the service promise "What you need is exactly what we can deliver," leveraging our full-chain service advantages to empower global mining development, help more projects achieve safe, green, and sustainable operations, and maximize the value of every client's mineral resources.
Xinhai Mining — Global Full-Chain Mining Service Provider (EPC+M+O). On-time commissioning. Performance guaranteed.
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