Name and Location
Buriticá gold project, Antioquia, Colombia.

Client
Continental Gold.

Project Description
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Buriticá gold project has outlined a mine that will employ more than 500 people, with the size, cost structure, diluted grade and overall economics, qualifying it to become one of the world’s leading gold mines. The PEA was completed using the resource estimate for the project’s Yaraguá and Veta Sur deposits, which contain a combined measured and indicated resource of 8.39-million tonnes grading 10.4 g/t of gold and 31 g/t of silver. Inferred resources are estimated at 16.7-million tonnes grading 7.8 g/t of gold and 24 g/t of silver.

The PEA is based on an underground mining operation using waste backfill, a conventional cyanidation processing facility, dry-stacked filtered tailings and related infrastructure capable of producing at 2 000 t/d at the start of production, ramping up to 3 500 t/d by year three.
Mineral resource extraction will use the longitudinal bench-and-fill method of longhole stoping, with waste being used as backfill. The Higabra Valley tunnel at the base of the mountain slope has been chosen as the main haulage level. The bulk of the existing resources in the Yaraguá and Veta Sur deposits is located above the elevation of this tunnel, providing an advantageous gravity scenario for the extraction and dewatering of the resources. The mine will be developed using three primary ramps – two at Yaraguá and one at Veta Sur – and will be used to transport equipment, personnel, materials and mined mineral resources to the Higabra Valley tunnel.

Additional primary development will include six main ventilation raises and several crosscuts connecting the primary ramps. A total of 196 000 m of primary and secondary development is contemplated over the 18-year mine life, with about 21 000 m required to be completed ahead of commercial production. Life-of-mine production is expected to total 20.1-million tonnes at an average diluted grade of 7.8 g/t gold and 19.35 g/t silver. Average total cash costs over the 18-year mine life are expected to be $431/oz of gold.

Minerals will be processed through a conventional crushing/grinding/gravity/cyanidation circuit, with doré sold to a third-party smelter. Metallurgical testwork completed to date demonstrates average recovery rates of 94.98% for gold and 56.80% for silver on a blended basis from the Yaraguá and Veta Sur deposits.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The PEA outlines an after-tax base case net present value, at a 5% discount of $1.08-billion, and an after-tax internal rate of return of 31.5%, with a payback period of 2.8 years.

Value
The initial capital cost for the project is estimated at $390.3-million, with sustain-ing capital costs for the balance of the life-of-mine at $346.7-million once commercial production has been achieved.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Continental Gold, tel +1 416 583 5610 or email info@continentalgold.com.