Canada-based Premier Gold Mines is moving to restart the Mercedes mine, in Mexico, but under a new optimised mine plan only 60% of the employees and 25% of the mining-related contractors will be required.

During a two-month coronavirus-related shutdown, Premier has assessed alternative mine plans for Mercedes to ensure its long-term viability. The new plan pays renewed attention to increasing production margins.

“Our team has developed a focused and achievable plan that will lead to future growth of production at Mercedes,” stated COO Peter van Alphen. 

The new plan limits mining and development activities to the Lupita and Diluvio zones. It focuses on consolidating production to one mine portal from five, reducing the mining rate to 1 200 t/d, from 2 000 t/d and operating the processing plant on a campaign basis in alignment with the plan and crew rotations.

This restructuring has resulted in a reduction of 40% of the employees required to operate the mine and 75% of mining-related contractors.

“We do not take lightly our decision to reduce the number of employees at the mine and must acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and support of our Mercedes employees and nearby communities impacted,” said Van Alphen in the company’s second quarter production results announcement.

The South Arturo joint venture (JV) mine, in Nevada, exceeded expectations during the second quarter, despite a planned shutdown of the Goldstrike roaster, which resulted in minimal ore processing during the month of June.

A total of 4 764 oz of gold was produced at South Arturo, which is operated by Barrick Gold through its subsidiary Nevada Gold Mines, prior to the shutdown. The balance of the ore mined during the period was stockpiled and is awaiting processing during the second half of the year.

The El Nino underground mine is one of several development opportunities at the South Arturo JV.  El Nino is the second mine that has been developed by the JV and, similar to the Phase 2 pit, has delivered solid operating results since initial production in late 2019.

The partners are contemplating additional development opportunities such as the Phase 1 and Phase 3 openpit projects, which include the potential for an on-site heap leach facility to process a large percentage of the ore produced. 

The company expects to complete an updated compliant technical report for South Arturo during the third quarter with the goal of providing a long-term view of the opportunity provided by this project.