Argonaut Gold has released a prefeasibility study for its proposed Magino open-pit mine and mill development near Wawa.
The deposit is being projected to have a 13.2-year mine life with annual production of 127,000 ounces.
The proposed $414-million open-pit mine will use conventional mining equipment including 240-tonne haul trucks, three shovels and front end loaders and a fleet of standard support equipment such as drills, dozers and graders.
The deposit has an indicated resource of more than 6.2 million ounces and more than 355,000 ounces inferred.
“Economics for the project are
strong, and are particularly robust during the first seven years,
when the company will be processing higher grade material and
stockpiling lower grade material for processing later in the mine
life,” said Pete Dougherty, company president and CEO in a Dec. 17
statement. “Potential upside value exists as the study only takes
40% of the current mineral resource estimate into consideration and
excludes pre-1997 underground and surface drilling data, included in
a previous resource estimate."
The production schedule was
developed to supply 12,500 tonnes per day of ore to the mill. The
highest grade ore possible will feed the mill during the first seven
years of the project. Low grade ore will be mined and stockpiled in
the early years to be processed later after the open pit is exhausted
by the eighth year of operation.
Magino is a past producing underground gold mine located 40 kilometres northeast of Wawa and 14 km southeast of the town of Dubreuilville.
