Great Panther Resources (GPR-V, GPRLF-O) has taken another big step toward reviving the Topia silver-lead-zinc mine in Durango, Mexico, with the commencement of commissioning of the project’s processing plant.
The milestone comes after 2 months worth of refurbishment to the 200-tonne-per-day mill.
Commissioning of the crushing and flotation facilities is expected to take 2 weeks, during which time the plant’s efficiency and recoveries will be optimized. Initially, lower grade mineralization from old mine dumps will be used during testing, followed by a larger-scale test designed to re-process old tailings material.
Meanwhile, mining is already under way on the west block of the Veta Madre (Mother Load), the primary vein previously exploited at the silver operation. High-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization from small mines in the district is also being stockpiled on site for custom milling. The custom feed will also keep the plant fed during rehabilitation of the 1522 and Argentina mines, which are expected to supply most of Topia’s short- to mid-term production.
In addition to vein-hosted mineralization, the company is considering reprocessing tailings generated from past operations.
From 1952 to 1999, the Topia mine produced more than 15 million oz. silver, 18,500 oz. gold, 48,000 tonnes lead, and 44,500 tonnes zinc.
According to previous operator Minera Mexicana Peoles, Topia contained 172,200 tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 0.79 grams gold and 339 grams silver per tonne plus 2.94% lead and 3.29% zinc. The historic estimate is not National Instrument 43-101-compliant.
The project is also home to inferred resources contained in 1 million tonnes of tailings running 70 grams silver, 0.4 gram gold, 0.3% lead and 0.7% zinc. An initial evaluation indicated reprocessing could yield a silver-gold bearing lead and zinc concentrate through standard flotation recovery.
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