Orvana says stockpiles to provide three more years of production
TSX-listed Orvana Minerals has announced the suspension of mining operations at Los Tojas, Bolivia, but the company is studying an oxide stockpile project at Don Mario, which could provide three years of production.
The miner explained on Friday that Los Tojas was uneconomic on an unitary cost-per-ounce basis, owing to higher-than-expected ore-grade operational mining dilution, with more narrow, erratic and discontinued mineralised structures.
CEO Juan Gavidia commented in a media statement that it was the “right decision to suspend operations to mitigate a higher unitary cost burden”, given the company’s focus on a near-term transition to the oxides stockpile project.
The oxides stockpile has a mineral resource of 2.18-million tonnes, at an average gold grade of 1.85 g/t, containing 386 950 oz of gold equivalent.
Orvana explained that the stockpile resource was estimated in the 2016 report on the assumption that the stockpile would be processed by flotation and would not be included in the carbon-in-leach circuit. However, during the past two financial years, the miner had been evaluating metallurgical alternatives to process the oxides stockpile, concluding that a sulphidisation circuit would maximise the value of the stockpile.
Subject to the ability to convert the estimated resources of the oxides stockpile into reserves, the oxides stockpile project could provide three full production years for Don Mario.
“Subject to a favourable outcome of the analysis of the feasibility of the oxides stockpile, we are committed to funding and building the oxides stockpile project, which is expected to commence in early financial year 2021, with 33 months of expected low-cost gold and copper production," said CEO Juan Gavidia.
The company also owns the El Valle mine, in Spain.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation















