Spring 2011 - The Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia

E.A. Scholz Award
WINNERS: John McManus and
Robert Rotzinger
John McManus, vice-president of operations
for Taseko Mines Limited, and
Robert Rotzinger, senior operational
manager, Taseko, are the recipients of the
2010 E.A. Scholz Award for excellence in
mine development. They are acknowledged
for their leadership and technical
co-ordination of the Gibraltar mine
expansion program by initially recognizing
the potential upside to expanding
the deposit resources, planning and
undertaking exploration drilling and
engineering studies, and scheduling the
two-phase construction program to successfully
complete the project on schedule
and on budget.
The Gibraltar open-pit coppermolybdenum
mine, 65 kilometres
northeast of Williams Lake, B.C., was
originally developed in 1971 with a
milling rate of 36,750 tons(short) per
day (tpd). Taseko acquired Gibraltar in
1999 at a time when the mine operation
was suspended due to low copper prices.
With an improved copper price and with
Rotzinger focused on improving mine
productivity and cost reduction, Taseko
reopened the mine in October 2004.
McManus joined Taseko in 2005, and
his main challenge was to transform the
mine from a swing producer, operating
when prices were high and closing when
prices were low, to a profi table, low-cost
operation that could continue successfully
through the cyclical and fl uctuating
trend of copper prices. Based on a strategy
to evaluate all phases of the mine
operation, mining cost projections and
copper market forecasts, it was initially
determined that there was a potential to
expand the deposit resources, especially
to depth. A major three-year drilling
program resulted in a signifi cant increase
in mine reserves. As drilling was defi ning
the reserves, the team led by McManus
and Rotzinger co-ordinated and guided
the two-phase feasibility study for mine
expansion. Phase 1 commenced in March
2006 to increase throughput from 36,750
tpd to 46,000 tpd; and Phase 2 commenced
in May 2007 to increase capacity
from 46,000 tpd to 55,000 tpd. One of
the main challenges for the expansion
program was to co-ordinate construction
John McManus and Robert Rotzinger
and new equipment installation schedules
while continuing to operate the mine and
concentrator. The global economic crisis
in late 2008, escalating construction
costs, and delays in new equipment deliveries
were additional challenges.
The Gibraltar expansion project was
completed in late fall 2010 with an investment
of nearly $350 million. McManus
and Rotzinger have co-ordinated and
guided the complex project from initial
evaluation studies to fi nal construction
phases to transform the aging Gibraltar
mine from a swing producer to a modern
large-scale sustainable operation.
42 SPRING 2011 Photograph: Brian Dennehy/AME BC