The Spaniards were the first to mine gold commercially in the South American country of Colombia which is probably best known as a coffee exporter. But today, modern placer mining techniques are recovering gold from alluvial gravels, which was missed by the Spaniards.
Anchor Gold, a Vancouver-based company, is running a small pilot plant operation on the western slope of the Andes in Narino province. The concession was acquired in May of 1985 along with approximately $2 million worth of equipment on site from Pacific Ventures. The assets were acquired for stock and the equipment was later refurbished in preparation for mining.
The company says the material going into the plant is averaging about $12(US) per yd and initial recoveries are ranging from 60%- 70%. They are using a conventional sluice box system and some 265,000 cu yd of ore grade material has been indicated in one known deposit, says a company official. Reserves are defined by sinking shallow shafts, trenching and drilling.
Anchor officials say they are aiming for a production rate of 100 yd per hour and the equipment is on site to accommodate that throughput. The purpose of the pilot plant is to determine gold recoveries. The gold is fine and no nuggets are being recovered at present.
The government of Colombia will purchase domestically- produced gold at 15% above the world market price as a means of encouraging mining activity. So company officials believe this could impact significantly on profitability. Projected production costs are approximately $3 per yd and, with almost seven square miles of ground in the concession, Anchor concludes the profit potential is exceptional.
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