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Chile
Maricunga (Refugio) Mine

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 Location:
103 km E from Copiapo, Chile

  Regional Office:
Avenida Los Carrera 6651
Copiapo
Chile
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax56-52-477569
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  • Overview
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  • Geology
  • Mining
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  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StatusTemporary Suspension
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Heap leach
  • Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
  • SART
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)
Mine Life2020
As a result of the suspension of mining and crushing activities at Maricunga, there was no ore mined and processed in both 2019 and 2018. In 2019, gold equivalent ounces produced and sold decreased by 36% and 51%, respectively, compared to 2018, as rinsing of ore placed on the heap leach pads prior to the suspension of mining activities continued to ramp down. No further production is expected.


Owners & OPERATOR

Source: p. 77
CompanyInterestOwnership
Kinross Gold Corp. 100 % Indirect
Compania Minera Maricunga S.A. (operator) 100 % Direct
The Maricunga heap leach mine, formerly known as the Refugio mine, is owned and operated by CMM.

Deposit Type

  • Porphyry
  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork


Summary:

Gold mineralization at Maricunga has been interpreted to be porphyry style gold systems.

The Verde and Pancho gold deposits at Maricunga occur in the Maricunga Gold Belt of the high Andes in northern Chile.

The Maricunga volcanic-intrusive complex is exposed over an area of 12 km2 and consists of andesitic to dacitic domes, flows, and breccias that are intruded by subvolcanic porphyries and breccias (Muntean 1998).

At Verde West, gold mineralization is centered about an elliptical porphyry plug measuring 175 by 100 m and oriented at N30°W. At Verde East, the porphyry plug measures 130 by 80 m and is oriented at N35°E. The porphyries occur within a sequence of intermediate tuffs, porphyries and breccias that are the host rocks to the gold mineralization. Lithological interpretation at Verde has identified six major lithologic units. These are:

• Post mineral intrusives (barren)
• Mineralized post mineral intrusives
• Verde breccia
• Dacite porphyry
• Dacite tuffs
• Laguna tuff (barren)

The most favourable ore hosts are the Verde Breccia and Dacite Porphyry units. The dacite porphyry is a volcanic to hypabyssal intrusive rock with 20% to 40% plagioclase phenocrysts in a fine-grained matrix. It contains phenocrysts of biotite, hornblende, and sparse quartz. The unit is the best host for stockwork veining, with some portions containing up to 20% quartz-magnetite ± pyrite veinlets.

The Verde Breccia consists of intrusive breccia and/or volcanic tuff breccia. Its geometry suggests an intrusive origin. The unit consists of breccia with angular to rounded clasts, generally matrix supported. The breccia is generally green to greenish gray, which is one of the diagnostic features of the unit. The color of the rock is largely due to chlorite and occasionally epidote. The fragments range from 2 mm to greater than 2 meters in size. Locally the unit is mostly matrix-sized material with only sparse clasts. Clasts in the unit are generally monolithic volcanic fragments, which are often porphyritic with white plagioclase laths up to 5 mm in length. The unoxidized rock typically contains 0.5 to 1% pyrite. Quartz-magnetite veinlets are common in the mineralized portions of the unit. In places, the breccia is cut by fine-grained matrix material that forms clastic-like dikes. These are generally > 2 cm in width. They may have been formed as “fluidized” material injected into fractures at the time of the formation of the unit.

Gold mineralization at Verde is interpreted to be the result of the fracturing and concentration of fluids in the carapace of an intrusive plug or stock. Gold is closely associated with quartz, magnetite, calcite, and garnet stockworks. Approximately 80% of the stockwork veins are generally dark grey in color, finely banded, with magnetite. The remaining 20% are principally white quartz veins. Gold mineralization is postulated to have resulted from at least 2 phases of mineralization, the first is a lower grade phase associated with copper and probably the porphyry emplacement event. The second phase is a higher-grade gold only event possibly associated with the structurally emplaced veinlet swarms and northwest trending sheeted veinlet zones more evident in Verde East. Verde East and Verde West cover an area of 1.4 km in length by 700 km in width. Drilling has identified gold mineralization to a depth of a 600 m.

The porphyritic diorite intrusives and intrusive breccias are the main hosts for mineralized veins. Mineralization is also hosted by the volcanic rocks. The mineralization is commonly related to the various geologic features listed below:

• directly associated with the presence of B, A and T veinlets
• in silicified zones, normally micro-granular and a dark grey color, with or without the
presence of magnetite
• associated with intrusive breccias
• in contact zones such as the contact between the intrusive breccia with the volcanic breccia or the contact between the intrusive breccia and the diorite porphyry.

In the porphyry the veins are present in stockwork or sheeted veins. They are generally subvertical and have a strong, preferred north-westerly strike. The northwest structural control is evident not only at outcrop scale but is also reflected in the northwest alignment of intrusives and the three centers of mineralization in the district, Verde, Pancho and Guanaco. The mineralization outlined to date at Pancho comprises an area of 800 m by 700 m. Gold porphyry mineralization was identified in drilling at depths exceeding 600 m.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

Maricunga is an open pit mine. The ore is transported by haul truck to the three-stage crusher and then to the heap leach pad.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Heap leach
  • Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
  • SART
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)

Source: Subscription required

Summary:

The ore is transported by haul truck to the three-stage crusher and then to the heap leach pad. Cyanide solution is applied by drip emitters at a concentration on the order of 0.5 grams per liter (g/L) at a rate of approximately 10 liters per hour per square meter (L/hr/m2). The solution percolates and is collected at the base of the pad by drains and pipelines that convey the rich solution to the solution ponds at the Adsorption-Desorption-Refining (ADR) Plant. The ADR Plant uses activated carbon for gold recovery. Cyanide is added to limit the adsorption of copper onto carbon, and a cold cyanide strip of the carbon is performed to remove copper. The cold strip Cu-CN solution is fed back to the heaps. The ADR plant consists of five carbon adsorption tanks, with Zadra pressure elution of carbon coupled with gold electrowinning. Overall gold recovery from ore to gold doré at Maricunga is 65 to 70 percent.

A portion of the rich solution proceeds to the Sulfidization, Acidifica ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter2016201520142013
Gold Equivalent Head Grade, g/t 0.670.750.740.6

Production:

CommodityUnits201920182017201620152014
Gold Equivalent oz  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required91,127175,532212,155247,216
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics2016201520142013
Ore tonnes mined 6,059 kt12,261 kt16,900 kt18,236 kt
Tonnes processed 6,508 kt12,790 kt16,018 kt15,058 kt
Daily milling capacity 48,000 kt40,000 t
Annual milling capacity 14 Mt

Reserves at December 31, 2019:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Measured 35,908 kt Gold 0.8 g/t 937 koz
Indicated 209,097 kt Gold 0.7 g/t 4,492 koz
Measured & Indicated 245,005 kt Gold 0.7 g/t 5,429 koz
Inferred 53,133 kt Gold 0.6 g/t 1,044 koz

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits2019201820172016201520142013
Cash costs (sold) Gold Equivalent USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required 482 / oz 827 / oz 1,010 / oz 953 / oz 1,170 / oz
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Financials:

Units2019201820172016201520142013
Capital expenditures M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required 24.5   29.7   57.8  
Revenue M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required 249.1  
Operating Income M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required -60.4   36.3   -711.6  
Gross profit M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required -43   42.5   -716.1  
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Heavy Mobile Equipment:

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 20, 2020
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
Annual Information Form 2017
Financial Review 2017
Management Discussion & Analysis 2017
Year-end Mineral Reserves 2017
Annual Report 2016
Project Description 2016
Annual Information Form 2015
Annual Report 2015
Press Release 2015
Annual Report 2014
Press Release 2014
Technical Report 2007
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Aerial view:

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