Placer Dome building new mines across globe

By the year 2000, Placer Dome (TSE) expects to reach its goal of producing 2.5 million oz. gold per year from operations around the world. The major has four operating units, with numerous development and expansion programs in progress.

The latest project to be given the green light is the Osborne copper-gold deposit in northwest Queensland. The project is owned by Australian-based Placer Pacific which, itself, is 75.5% owned by Placer Dome. Proven and probable reserves are 11.4 million tonnes grading 3.04% copper and 1.28 grams gold per tonne. The deposit lies within a geologically prospective district that is believed to have good exploration potential. All approvals are in hand to begin constructing a mine and plant at a capital cost of A$155 million. Production is scheduled to start in July, 1995, and the mine is targeted to produce 324,000 tonnes of copper and 416,000 oz. gold over 11 years.

A feasibility study projects the average cost of production will be US63 cents per lb. copper, after subtracting gold credits.

For the first 18 months, mining will be by open-pit methods. This will be followed by underground development with access by a decline ramp from the base of the pit and development of an ore-hoisting shaft.

Processing will take the form of conventional, multi-stage crushing and grinding, followed by a flotation circuit, to produce a copper-gold concentrate. Some gold in dore form will be recovered from a small carbon-in-pulp circuit.

Closer to home, Placer Dome Canada is busy expanding production at the Dome mine in Ontario, to a targeted rate of 315,000 oz. gold per year. And in Latin America, the major is building a mine at its half-owned Zaldivar project in Chile, which is expected to produce 125,000 tonnes of copper per year for 17 years. Meanwhile, in Venezuela, a feasibility study is being carried out for a gold mine on the concessions known as Las Cristinas. In Nevada, Placer Dome U.S. is building an open-pit mine on the Cortez joint-venture property, which is targeted to produce 217,000 oz. gold over three years. This project represents the first production from recent exploration successes at Cortez. In addition, a feasibility study is under way for the nearby South Pipeline gold deposit. Awaiting development is an even larger discovery, the Main Pipeline gold deposit.

At the Golden Sunlight mine in Montana, milling was recently halted because of ground instability problems and concerns related to the risk of ruptured equipment or a chemical spill.

The mine produces about 100,000 oz. gold annually and the shutdown will last until the company is assured that the safety of its workers is not at risk. The mine is reported to be in compliance with all environmental regulations. Placer Dome currently has interests in 13 operating gold mines in five countries. Its share of production is forecast to be 1.8 million oz. this year.