The mine, situated in the Wawa area of northern Ontario, turned out 7,166 oz gold during the third quarter of this year, up from 5,750 oz during the previous quarter. For the first nine months of 1989, the mine, which was officially opened about one year ago, has produced 16,915 oz.
The president of both companies, J. T. Flanagan, said with capital and start-up expenditures completed, the focus is on reducing the operating costs.
“These (the costs) have been declining steadily since the beginning of 1989 and now, in spite of inflation, they are approaching the after-start-up range of $65-70 per ton which was forecast two years ago when the decision was made to build a mill on the property,” said Flanagan in a prepared release.
At the time of the opening, output of 40,000 oz gold annually was projected from the processing of 400 tons ore per day.
Flanagan attributes the increased output mainly to a higher mill feed grade: 0.19 oz gold per ton compared with 0.16 oz during the first two quarters of 1989. Most of the ore now being processed is arriving from underground stopes rather than from the lower grade exploration and development material stockpiled on surface.
Mill throughput during the third quarter, he said, was 426 tons per day, with an average gold recovery rate of 96.1%.
Drill-indicated reserves at Magino stand at 1.9 million tons averaging 0.25 oz, to a depth of 500 ft. Drilling of widely spaced holes to below 2,000 ft have indicated potential significant additional tonnage, he said.
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