World’s first carbon neutral mine around the corner

The new mine, located in the shadow of Mount Everest, is supported by a consortium with world-class expertise in their individual fields. One of these companies is Gekko Systems, which will provide its Python underground processing technology.

The other group members behind the Yunong Qian project development are Poseidon Underwater Salvaging and Warf Tunnelling Corporation.

Discovered by Professor I Jones in 1935, the resource was immediately caught up in political intrigues in the lead up to World War II. In following years, there have been various proposals, but until now, none has been able to satisfy the Nepalese government’s strict development and environmental guidelines.

Gekko Systems said it was approached by Cheng Woo Alpine Prospecting NL in 2010 to assess the application of its Python technology to the deposit.

“Extensive metallurgical test work showed the ore responded extremely well to the progressive crush, liberation, gravity route with over 99% of valuable minerals being recovered in only three passes. By proving the effectiveness of this recovery technique, the energy requirements were reduced to a fraction of conventional processing technologies,” said Gekko in a statement.

The Nepalese government’s strict guidelines dictate zero visual and environmental impact, which has dissuaded development until now. The Python will operate underground with waste material being retained in natural underground fissures, so there will be no above ground evidence of mining activity.

Due to the mountainous terrain, the area is particularly sensitive to vibration and shock, ruling out conventional drill and blast techniques. To address this, expertise in rock cutting and continuous mining has been added to the venture with the recruitment of Warf Tunnelling Corporation, bringing years of expertise in continuous rock cutting.

The remoteness of the site has deterred previous developers due to the high cost and logistical complications inherent in supplying a major mining operation in a remote place.

No fuel

In keeping with the overall carbon neutral development philosophy there is no fuel delivery to site. All equipment is electrically powered and operated. There is also no vibration or motor noise to disturb the environment or endanger climbers on nearby Mt Everest.

The single biggest development hurdle was the provision of a reliable and cheap power source. Gekko says that hydro electricity was considered, but quickly discarded after the exploration camp’s pilot hydro generator was swept away in an avalanche.

The problem was solved and the consortium expanded by the entry of Poseidon Underwater Salvaging. The company used their salvage vessel, the Nautilus, to recover the nuclear reactor from the sunken Soviet-era submarine, The Red October. Fuel for the reactor will be provided by a second smaller Python mining the uranium rich P-shoot of the ore body.

The last hurdle was the human element. The consortium believes fly-in fly-out arrangements are neither practical nor desirable due to the carbon footprint of frequent air travel. A self-reliant community of workers and their families will be built around the mine with employment opportunities and education facilities provided for all. Neighbourhood based underground vegetable and mushroom farms will be tended by all and fertilized using domestic waste to complete the food chain. Yaks will be raised for milk, wool, meat and fat to lubricate the mining machinery.