• Data Access
  • Your Email  
  • Your Email  
Keep me signed in.
Forgot your password?
Close
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Enter the email you signed up with and we'll email it to you.
  • Your Email  
Close
Back
MDO
Mining Data Solutions
  • Home
  • Database
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
Argentina
Diablillos Project

This page is not tailored to
devices with screen width under 750 px.
 Location:
149 km SW from Salta, Argentina

  Project Contacts:
220 Bay St, Suite 550
Toronto
Ontario, Canada
M5J 2W4
Phone  ...  Subscription required
EmailEmail
WebsiteWeb
Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors
Drill results over 30 g/t Au
Stay on top of recent discoveries.
Search drill results by commodity and grade.
Largest mines in the Americas
Mining and mill throughput capaciites.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Deepest underground mines
Shaft depth and mill throughput data.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Heavy mobile equipment
HME type, model, size and quantity.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Permitting and construction projects
Projects at the permitting or construction stage. Full profiles of select projects.
Mines with remote camps
Camp size, mine location and contacts.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Mines & projects in Argentina
A list of country's mines and projects.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

Thank you for browsing through mine profiles compiled by the Mining Data Online team.

Would you like to subcribe or schedule a Demo?
  • Name:
     
  • Company:
     
  • Position:
     
  • Phone:
  • Email:
  • Message:

Overview

StagePreliminary Economic Assessment
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Silver
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Gravity separation
  • Smelting
  • Intensive Cyanidation Reactor (ICR)
  • Filter press plant
  • Centrifugal concentrator
  • Concentrate leach
  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Counter current decantation (CCD)
  • Merrill–Crowe
  • Cyanide (reagent)
Mine Life16 years (as of Jan 1, 2022)
Latest NewsAbraSilver Drills 294 g/t AgEq over 67.5m at Diablillos & Provides La Coipita Drilling Update     April 27, 2022


Owners

Source: p. 21
CompanyInterestOwnership
AbraSilver Resource Corp. 100 % Indirect
Huayra is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AbraSilver, and AbraSilver holds indirect ownership of the Project through Huayra.

Deposit Type

  • Epithermal
  • Vein / narrow vein


Summary:

The deposits at Diablillos, are high-sulphidation epithermal silver-gold deposits, derived from activity of hydrothermal fluids in a relatively shallow environment, often associated with fumaroles and hot springs. The principal mineralizing process is by convective flow of meteoric waters driven by remnant heat from intrusive activity at depth, often related to copper porphyry systems. The term “high-sulphidation” refers to the conversion of magmatic SO2 in aqueous solution into H2SO4 and H2S resulting in a highly acidic environment responsible for the diagnostic assemblage of alteration facies typically seen in these deposits. Mineral occurrences are structurally and hydrostatically controlled, with deposition occurring as open space filling at or near the level at which boiling occurs. As such, they characteristically subtend a limited vertical range, except where cyclical healing and failure of fractures results in up and down migration of the boiling zone.

MINERALIZATION
There are several mesothermal, and epithermal precious and base metal occurrences situated along the trend of the Diablillos - Cerro Galán fault zone within the northern and central Puna, including Diablillos, Incahuasi, Cóndor Yacu, Inca Viejo, and Centenario. Many of the mineral occurrences are spatially, and probably genetically, related to small Tertiary stocks and extrusive domes that are usually hydrothermally altered with disseminated and vein-hosted lead, zinc, silver, and gold (± tin, antimony, copper, and molybdenum) mineralization (Coira et al., 1993, quoted in Wardrop, 2009 and RPA, 2018).

There are seven known mineralized zones on the Diablillos property, with the Oculto zone being the most important and best explored:
1. Oculto including the Zorro and Cerro Bayo subzones.
2. Fantasma.
3. Laderas.
4. Pedernales including the Pedernales Sur subzone (including Truchas and Saddle showings) and Pedernales Norte subzone (including Vicuña, Corderos, Suri, and Guanaco showings).
5. Cerro del Medi.
6. Cerro Viejo.
7. Cerro Viejo Este.

Oculto is the principal deposit on the property and is the locality of the bulk of the present Mineral Resource. It is a high-sulphidation epithermal silver-gold deposit derived from remnant hot springs activity following Tertiary-age local magmatic and volcanic activity. It is evidenced at surface by a broad zone of intense acid leaching located on the flank of Cerro Bayo, although the economic mineralization does not outcrop. Host rocks at surface are hornblende porphyritic andesite which have been intruded by a dacite porphyry body (or bodies) which are hypothesized to be the thermal driver(s) for the mineralization (Tate, 2018). The andesites overlie a basement assemblage of phyllites and granitic rocks. At the contact of the andesite with the basement, there is a paleo-surface occupied by a discontinuous conglomerate unit of widely ranging thickness.

The deposit is strongly oxidized down to depths in the order of 300 m to 400 m below surface. In the oxide zone, precious metal mineralization consists of native gold, chlorargyrite, comparatively less common iodargyrite, and locally common bismuthinite (Stein, 2001). These minerals occur as fine - grained fracture fillings and vug linings in association with quartz, jarosite, plumbojarosite, hematite, and goethite. Other accessory minerals include alunite, barite, native sulphur, and bismoclite.

Hypogene mineralization comprises vein and breccia-hosted sulphides and sulphosalts underlying the oxide zones. Primary sulphide and sulphosalt minerals include pyrite, galena, enargite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, tennantite, and matildite. Accessory minerals include barite and alunite. Incipient supergene enrichment was observed by Stein (2001), with covellite partially replacing chalcopyrite and polybasite replacing tennantite. A review of early drill results, together with 2020 and 2021 drilling, demonstrates that high grade silver mineralisation is located in a zone between 100 and 150 meters below surface and extends beyond the steeply dipping feeder structures. This zone is considered to be a result of supergene enrichment.

The gold and silver mineralization throughout the deposit occurs as extremely fine grains along fractures and in breccias or coating the inside of vugs and weathered cavities. Mineral grains are very difficult to identity in core or hand specimen, and much of the identification of these minerals was done using electron microscope or microprobe. However, occasional visible native silver mineralisation occurs along fractures in the “supergene enrichment zone”.

Gold-silver mineralization is observed to occur in tabular silica veins, disseminations in bleached and altered wall rocks, and siliceous hydrothermal breccias, and has propagated laterally along the trend of the conglomerate and the Tertiary-Ordovician contact. This has imparted a complex geometry to the deposit, with a broadly north-easterly trend consisting of steeply dipping, structurally hosted zones along with more horizontal tabular bodies. The mineralization occurs within a vertical range of 3,965 MASL and 4,300 MASL, predominantly between elevations of 4,050 MASL and 4,250 MASL.

The core of the deposit is predominantly vuggy silica ± alunite surrounded by a zone of pervasive alunite and clay alteration, which in turn grades outwards into kaolinite with illite, smectite, and chlorite (Stein, 2001). Pervasive chlorite alteration underlies the mineralization in the southwest portion of the deposit. A steam-heated zone of alunite-clay-opal is preserved above 4,330 MASL and occurs in outcrop in the central portion of the deposit.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

The proposed Diablillos Project consists of open pit mining at the Oculto deposit, which has 18 months pre-stripping and sixteen years of production at a strip ratio of 3.6. Total material moved will be 17 Mtpa during initial stripping decreasing to 3 Mtpa at the end of the mine life. The open pit is designed to feed the processing plant at 7,000 tpd.

The Oculto deposit is considered for open pit mining to be carried out by contractor as a conventional truck and shovel operation. Contract mining was considered over owner operations to accommodate variable annual material movement quantities and flexibility in mobile mining equipment fleet sizes. This option also reduces up-front capital expenditures associated with mobile mining equipment purchases.

It is contemplated that the mining contractor would undertake the following activities:
• Drilling performed by conventional hydraulic production drills.
• Blasting using a downhole delay initiation system.
• Loading and hauling performed with trucks and shovels.
• Production support using bulldozers, graders, and water trucks.

AbraSilver would supervise mining operations with its own employees including mining engineers, geologists, surveyors, and support staff. The rock mass at Oculto has been considered to require drilling and blasting. It should however be noted that unconsolidated scree will represent a material amount of early stripping material. As this will not require drilling and blasting, costs could be lower in practice (and represent an upside).

Mineralized material from Oculto will be hauled directly to the run-of-mine (ROM) stockpile. The process plant will feed material to the primary crusher from the stockpile as required using a front-end loader (FEL).

Waste rock for Oculto will be sent to a waste stockpile located directly south of the Oculto pit. This waste stockpile location will take advantage of the terrain and allow for downhill placement, resulting in shorter haul distances. The average ex-pit haulage distance for waste is approximately one kilometre.


Crushing and Grinding
Flow Sheet: Source
Crusher / Mill TypeModelSizePowerQuantity
Jaw crusher 1
Cone crusher 1
SAG mill 4.7 MW 1
Ball mill 4.7 MW 1

Summary:

Crushing
The crushing circuit will consist of a single-stage jaw crushing circuit. Mineralized material will be trucked from the open pit mine to the run of mine (ROM) stockpile located close to the plant crushing area. Mineralized material will be either directly discharged into a ROM bin at the crushing circuit or stored on the ROM stockpile for later recovery by front end loader (“FEL”). The crushing circuit ROM bin will have a fixed grizzly installed, with an aperture of 800 mm, to minimize oversize material entering the process. Oversize material from the grizzly will be broken by a mobile rock breaker and re-fed to the ROM bin.

Mineralized material will be extracted from the ROM bin at a nominal rate of 417 tonnes per hour (t/h) by an apron feeder, which will feed a 105 mm aperture vibrating grizzly. Oversize material from the vibrating grizzly will feed a jaw crusher. Jaw crushed product, below 150 mm in size, will combine with the vibrating grizzly undersize and will be transferred by a primary crusher discharge conveyor to the stockpile feed conveyor. A self-cleaning tramp iron magnet is positioned at the discharge of the primary crusher discharge conveyor to allow the removal of tramp steel from the circuit. The final primary crushed mineralised material will be fed to a 7,000 t capacity coarse ore stockpile (COS) via the stockpile feed conveyor at a nominal rate of 417 t/h.

Grinding
Crushed mineralized material will be recovered from below the coarse ore stockpile using two belt feeders at a nominal rate of 320 t/h (dry basis) to feed the SAG mill feed conveyor. The SAG mill feed conveyor delivers the mineralized material directly into the feed end of a 4.7 MW SAG mill. Lime will also be directly dosed on to the SAG mill feed conveyor to allow the slurry pH to be modified to the correct level ahead of the cyanide leaching circuit.

Ground SAG mill material will discharge through a trommel into a hopper from where the slurry will be pumped to a cluster of hydrocyclones. SAG mill trommel oversize will be conveyed to a recycle cone crusher which will reduce coarse SAG mill rejects to below the critical size for efficient grinding. The recycle crusher will be protected from steel balls by a magnetic separator. Recycle crusher product is conveyed back to the SAG mill feed conveyor.

Cyclone underflow material will feed to a 4.7 MW ball mill, with the ball mill discharge reporting to the same hopper as the SAG mill discharge. The cyclone overflow, with P80 (80% passing size) of 0.150 mm will be directed to the leach feed thickener via a trash screen. A bleed stream of the cyclone underflow will be directed to a gravity scalping screen to remove plus 2 mm material that will be returned to the ball mill. The minus 2 mm material will be fed directly into a centrifugal gravity concentrator to recover the coarse precious metals.


Processing

  • Gravity separation
  • Smelting
  • Intensive Cyanidation Reactor (ICR)
  • Filter press plant
  • Centrifugal concentrator
  • Concentrate leach
  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Counter current decantation (CCD)
  • Merrill–Crowe
  • Cyanide (reagent)

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

A conventional silver/gold processing plant flowsheet was developed from the latest test work results that incorporates crushing, grinding, cyanide leaching with oxygen addition, counter current decantation (“CCD”) washing thickeners and Merrill-Crowe precious metal recovery from solution followed by on-site smelting to doré bars. The leached and washed solids are detoxified, thickened and pumped to a tailings storage facility (“TSF”) for permanent disposal. The design basis for the process plant is 7,000 tonnes tpd, or 2.45 mtpa considering 350 days a year of operation.

The grinding circuit also has a centrifugal gravity recovery circuit included in the design to recover coarse precious metal particles that enter the grinding circuit. The minus 2 mm material will be fed directly into a centrifugal gravity concentrator to recover the coarse precious metals. The concentrate recovered from the centrifugal concentrator will be directed to an intensive leach reactor (“ILR”), wh ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameterAvg. LOM
Silver Recovery Rate, % 73.4
Silver Head Grade, g/t 72.2
Gold Recovery Rate, % 86
Gold Head Grade, g/t 0.78

Projected Production:

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Silver koz 4,20063,803
Gold koz  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Silver Equivalent M oz  ......  Subscription required
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics
Stripping / waste ratio  ......  Subscription required
Daily ore mining rate  ......  Subscription required
Waste tonnes, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Total tonnes mined, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Daily processing capacity  ......  Subscription required
Tonnes processed, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Annual processing capacity  ......  Subscription required
Annual ore mining rate  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2022 study.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at September 8, 2021:
The Mineral Resource is reported inside a whittle pit shell with a cut-off grade of 35 g/t silver equivalent.

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Measured 8,235 kt Silver 124 g/t 32,701 koz
Measured 8,235 kt Gold 0.98 g/t 259 koz
Indicated 32,958 kt Silver 54 g/t 57,464 koz
Indicated 32,958 kt Gold 0.7 g/t 744 koz
Measured & Indicated 41,193 kt Silver 68 g/t 90,165 koz
Measured & Indicated 41,193 kt Gold 0.76 g/t 1,002 koz
Inferred 2,884 kt Silver 34 g/t 3,181 koz
Inferred 2,884 kt Gold 0.7 g/t 66 koz

2022 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total Taxes $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Proposed Heavy Mobile Equipment as of January 13, 2022:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantityLeased or
Contractor
ANFO Loader ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Leased
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNamePhoneEmailProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 13, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 31, 2022
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2022

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
Corporate Presentation 2022
................................... Subscription required 2021
Preliminary Economic Assessment 2018
Press Release 2018
Technical Report 2016
Technical Report 2009
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
AbraSilver Drills 294 g/t AgEq over 67.5m at Diablillos & Provides La Coipita Drilling Update April 27, 2022
AbraSilver Reports Best Intercept to Date From Current Drill Program at Diablillos 140 Metres Grading 301 g/t AgEq (4.3 g/t AuEq) April 11, 2022
AbraSilver Drills 14m at 5.76 g/t Gold-Equivalent in Step-Out Hole at Diablillos February 22, 2022
AbraSilver Drills 61m at 2.71 g/t Gold-Equivalent (190 g/t Silver-Equivalent), Continues to Extend Oxide Mineralisation Beyond the Pit Margin in Northeast Zone January 20, 2022
AbraSilver Announces Filing of PEA Technical Report for Diablillos Project January 13, 2022
AbraSilver Announces Robust PEA of Diablillos Including After-Tax NPV of US$364M November 29, 2021
AbraSilver Announces Filing of NI 43-101 Technical Report for Increased Mineral Resource Estimate at Diablillos October 29, 2021
AbraSilver Continues to Extend Shallow Mineralization in Broad Intercepts Northeast and West of the Main Oculto Zone; 39.5m at 234 g/t AgEq (3.12 g/t AuEq) October 13, 2021
AbraSilver Intersects Additional High-Grade Silver and Gold Mineralization: 109m at 292 g/t AgEq, Including 6m at 1,180 g/t AgEq September 16, 2021
AbraSilver Announces Significant Increase in Mineral Resource Estimate for Diablillos September 15, 2021
AbraSilver Announces Initial Drill Results from Phase II Exploration Program, Extending Gold Mineralization Well Beyond the Oculto Zone, With 53 Metres Grading 2.9 g/t AuEq August 9, 2021
AbraSilver Reports Additional Wide, High-Grade Oxide Intercepts with 72 Metres at 3.8 g/t Gold-Equivalent, Including 12 Metres at 11.9 g/t Gold-Equivalent June 15, 2021
AbraSilver Reports Multiple High-Grade Silver & Gold Intercepts Including 82 Metres at 4.1 g/t Gold-Equivalent (305 g/t Silver-Equivalent) June 1, 2021
AbraPlata Continues to Intersect High Grade, Near-Surface Oxide Silver and Gold Mineralisation Including 13.5 Metres Grading 515 g/t AgEq... February 3, 2021
(Audio Enhanced) AbraPlata Drilling Intersects Thick Zones of Shallow Silver and Gold Mineralisation And Grants Incentive Stock Options and RSUs January 26, 2021
AbraPlata Announces Additional High-Grade Drill Results Including 47 Metres Grading 349 g/t AgEq (4.7 g/t AuEq) at Diablillos Project December 21, 2020
AbraPlata Reports Additional High-Grade Silver, Gold and Copper Mineralisation Including 83 Metres Grading 398 g/t AgEq... December 7, 2020
AbraPlata Announces Diablillos Property Payment to SSR Mining November 23, 2020
AbraPlata Intersects Further High-Grade Silver, Gold and Copper Mineralisation Including 408 g/t AgEq Over 28 m... October 26, 2020
AbraPlata Drills 10.20 g/t AuEq Over 2 m and Adds Second Drill Rig To Expand and Accelerate Exploration Program at Diablillos Project October 13, 2020
AbraPlata Intersects 22 Metres of 4.22 g/t Gold; Including 1 Metre of 31.2 g/t Gold and 60.4 g/t Silver at Diablillos Project September 2, 2020
AbraPlata Intercepts 14 Metres of 6.40 g/t Gold & 197 g/t Silver and Identifies High-Grade Copper Zone with Intercept of 15 Metres of 5.1% Copper, 2.35 g/t Gold & 658 g/t Silver February 19, 2020
AbraPlata Intersects 17.5 Metres of 604 g/t Silver and 7.0 Metres of 20.6 g/t Gold and 202 g/t Silver at Diablillos Project January 27, 2020
AbraPlata Resource Corp. Announces Diablillos PEA Results with 30.2% IRR March 2, 2018
AbraPlata Provides Diablillos PEA Status Update and Announces Expiry of Anti-Dilution Right Held by SSR Mining February 26, 2018

Aerial view:

Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2017-2022 MDO Data Online Inc.