The bar, which contains 415 oz. gold, was produced from stockpiled low-grade ore during tweaking of the operation’s 600-tonne-per-day mill. Mill recoveries and metallurgical balances continue to be improved.
The company has begun blending in higher-grade ore from the Lower Mineralized zone (LMZ), and plans similar pours on a weekly basis. “Orvana will be reporting gold sales in this quarter,” says President Jaime Urjel.
Gold mineralization at Don Mario is found in two ore structures — the Lower Mineralized zone (LMZ) and the Upper Mineralized zone (UMZ).
Proven and probable reserves in the LMZ total 1.2 million tonnes grading 10 grams gold per tonne. An updated estimate by AMEC is expected this month.
An in-house estimate of the metallurgically complex, near-surface UMZ is 4 million tonnes grading 1.66 grams gold and 51.9 grams silver per tonne, plus 1.9% copper. A transitional sulphide resource contains 1.9 million tonnes averaging 2.3 grams gold and 48.9 grams silver, plus 1.4% copper.
Orvana recently completed 110 metres of a planned 225-metre vertical shaft. Also, 760 metres worth of drifts and crosscuts and 340 metres of open cut and ventilation raises have been cut.
At full steam, the mine is expected to run through 200,000 tonnes of ore annually, from which will be produced 60,000 oz. gold. Cash costs are estimated at US$25-30 per tonne of ore.
The project is subject to a 3% net smelter return royalty payable to Repadre Capital, which recently merged with
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