Orvana resumes work at Don Mario

Vancouver-based Orvana Minerals (ORV-T) has retained an engineering firm to update a May 1999 feasibility study for the Don Mario gold-copper deposit in Bolivia.

The study, by Australia’s Minproc, will focus on the Lower mineralized zone. It will evaluate various underground mining methods, estimate underground and open-pit mining costs, and schedule production from the open pit and underground mines.

The previous feasibility study showed that the Lower mineralizaed zone contained an underground resource of 667,000 tonnes grading 17.63 grams gold per tonne, equivalent to 377,800 oz. A small portion of the zone was deemed amenable to small-scale open-pit mining. The mini-pit has reserves of about 329,700 tonnes grading 8.3 grams with a stripping ratio of 6.7-to-1.

At 750 tonnes per day, Don Mario is expected to produce up to 130,000 oz. gold during the first few years of operation at an average cash cost of US$100 per oz.