Gordex to convert to vat leaching

Based on results of 92 drill holes on 12.5-m spacings, reserves at Gordex Minerals’ Cape Spencer gold mine stand at one million tons grading 0.057 oz gold per ton.

Located northeast of Saint John, N.B., Cape Spencer is Canada’s first heap leaching operation.

However, a $2.5-million expansion is under way on the site to expand and convert operations from open heap leaching to vat leaching, President H. E. Pawson tells The Northern Miner. By covering the leaching pads the company will be able to operate 24 hours a day throughout the year, even during the winter months.

The plan is to convert the present heap leach pad into a 50,000-ton vat and to construct a new 50,000- ton vat leach for a total of two vat leaches. This will enable Gordex to process 100,000 tons of gold bearing deposits this year and 200,000 tons in 1988, says Mr Pawson.