Production dates set at Cargo and Kirkland

Production from the 200,000-ton bulk heap leach test at the Cargo Muchacho project in southern California is expected to start mid- March, says President H. Lutz Klingmann.

Approximately 10,000 ft of waterline were installed from the well to the plant site and the well has been producing at about 100 gallons per minute, sufficient for the heap leach operation.

The plant site was levelled and construction of solution ponds and leach pads has been completed. The mill building has been erected and the assay laboratory is being equipped.

The feasibility study for the underground development of the American Girl B zone is in progress. The decline has advanced about 400 ft and metallurgical testing on samples of drill cuttings is being done by Lakefield Research of Lakefield, Ont. Initial test results show gold recoveries of greater than 90% can be obtained in a full-scale plant, says Mr Klingmann.

Reserves at the property stand at 6.4 million tons grading 0.051 oz gold per ton, most of which is amenable to open pit mining. Underground reserves total 1.2 million tons grading 0.23 oz.

Production at the company’s Kirkland Lake tailings project is expected to start mid-September of this year.

This tailings recovery system is designed to treat 735,000 tons of tailings per year with projected average gold production of 20,000 oz per year.

Construction of the access road around the northern edge of Kirkland Lake has been completed. The excavation of the division channel has been completed.

Detailed mill design has been completed. Mr Klingmann says it was decided to include a thickener and stock tank ahead of the mill to ensure a uniform flow of tailings to the mill.

Costs for the major components ordered to date have been under the feasibility study estimates and this trend is expected to continue.