Apollo Gold, the newest producer in the Timmins camp, is on the verge of doubling the capacity of its Black Fox Mill from 700 tonnes per day to 1,500 tonnes per day.
Located 49 kilometres east of Timmins and 26 kilometres west of the Black Fox mine site, the mill is currently processing ore at a rate of 700 tonnes per day. The commissioning of a new ball mill is nearly complete, and is slated to be complete within the next week. Once online, its throughput will slowly increase with an eye on reaching 1,500 tonnes per day by the end of May.
To date, Apollo Gold has mined 240,000 tonnes of material, including 75,000 tonnes of ore. Nearly 16,000 tonnes of this ore has already been crushed and transported to the mill.
The company will mine an estimated 2.9 million tonnes through 2009, with the ore being crushed at the mine site and transported to the Black Fox mill by a fleet of contract trucks.
The mill, formerly known as the Stock Mill Complex, was purchased from St Andrew Goldfields for $20.1 million cash.
The open pit features probable reserves of 730,000 gold ounces at 5.2 grams per tonne (g/t), while the underground has probable reserves of 600,000 ounces at 8.8 g/t.
