Vancouver – The erratic nature of bonanza-grade, low-sulphidation epithermal veins has prompted Ivanhoe Mines (IVN-T) to start a small-scale operation over its Eunsan gold-silver prospect in South Korea.
So far about 650 tons of material grading 2.45 oz gold and 36 oz. silver per ton has been stockpiled. The company is aiming to have 10,000 tons of ore ready before production begins in the second quarter of next year.
Capital costs, including the construction of a 100-ton-per-day mill, is set at US$650,000. The mill will use conventional flotation circuits to recover the gold and silver. Based on metallurgical test work, gold recoveries should hit 85% for the oxidized surface ore and 95% from the underground ore.
Once the initial open pit area is complete, underground development work will begin by driving a decline to provide access for underground mining. Some 0.7 miles of underground development are planned to more accurately determine grade and tonnage at Eunsan.
The Eunsan deposit marks the most advanced of several high-grade epithermal gold-silver targets located on the Seongsan project in Chollanam-Do province. Drilling is ongoing at the other prospects to define the grades and extent of the gold and silver mineralization
The low-sulphidation, epithermal gold-silver mineralized systems occur as veins, breccias, stockworks and zones of silification along a total strike length of more than 2 miles. The veins lie along a structural zone adjacent to a large, operating clay mine.
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