Overview
| Stage | Production |
| Mine Type | Open Pit & Underground |
| Commodities |
|
| Mining Method |
- Truck & Shovel / Loader
- Longhole stoping
|
| Production Start | ...  |
Cerro Vanguardia operates multiple small open pits with high stripping ratios and multiple narrow-vein underground mines located within the property and mined simultaneously. Silver is produced as a by- product. |
Source:
p. 116
Cerro Vanguardia mine is operated by Cerro Vanguardia S.A. ("CVSA"), which is a company formed by AngloGold Ashanti (92.5%) and Fomicruz SE, a state-owned company operating in the province of Santa Cruz (7.5%).
Contractors
- Subscription is required.
Deposit Type
- Vein / narrow vein
- Epithermal
Summary:
Geology
The Cerro Vanguardia district is located within the southern Deseado Massif in the Santa Cruz province of Patagonia, Argentina. The Deseado Massif is an extensive rhyolite province of Middle to Upper Jurassic age. The most important geological feature in the Deseado Massif is an extended plateau formed by pyroclastic, epiclastic and extrusive rocks that were part of a strong explosive volcanic event. The volcanic event was associated with regional extensional tectonics developed during the Middle to Upper Jurassic and related to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The rocks representing this magmatism are termed the Bajo Pobre Formation and Bahia Laura Group. The Bajo Pobre Formation comprises andesites, basalts and mafic volcanic agglomerates. The Bahia Laura Group includes both the Chon Aike Formation (ignimbrites, tuffs, volcanic breccias, agglomerates, lavas, and domes) and the La Matilde Formation (tuffs and epiclastic volcanic interlayered with ignimbrites).
Deposit type
The Middle to Upper Jurassic ignimbrites and volcanic rocks of the Chon Aike Formation host the low- sulphidation epithermal gold and silver deposits. The thickness of the ignimbrite sequence is estimated to have exceeded 1,000m but some lateral variations have been identified across the district. Epithermal gold-silver bearing structures cut across all Jurassic rocks in the stratigraphy. The two main ignimbrite units, the Masiva-Lajosa and Granosa, host most of the mineralised veins.
The Masiv ........
Mining Methods
- Truck & Shovel / Loader
- Longhole stoping
Summary:
Cerro Vanguardia deposit is a series of veins and mined using open pit techniques. There are around 15 open pits with variable contents of gold, silver and base metals.
The operation comprises both open pit and underground mining. Open pit mining is by conventional open pit methods with a double bench height of 20m and contributes 60% of the ore. Open pit mining is distributed between multiple operating pits, typically seven to 11 at any one time, depending on the plant feed requirements.
For the underground operations, longhole stoping is the mining method and, currently, there are four underground mines that are operated at the same time, located on the Osvaldo 8, Cuncuna, Liliana Norte and Liliana Sur veins. Three more underground mines are in development (Luciana 3, Rocio and Serena Norte). Underground mining represents around 40% of total production, a percentage that will increase in the coming years. Lower-grade material is stockpiled and processed on the heap leach.
Source:
- subscription is required.
Source:
Summary:
- subscription is required.
Reserves at December 31, 2022:
Mineral Reserves cut-off grades:
- Open-pit 1.80 g/t Au;
- Underground 5.19 g/t Au;
- In situ heap leach stockwork material is 0.37 g/t Au;
- Heap leach stockpiles 0.37 g/t.
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
|
Proven & Probable
|
12.3 Mt
|
Gold
|
2.03 g/t
|
0.8 M oz
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
12.3 Mt
|
Silver
|
59.96 g/t
|
23.72 M oz
|
|
Total Resource
|
40.52 Mt
|
Gold
|
2.33 g/t
|
3.04 M oz
|
|
Total Resource
|
40.52 Mt
|
Silver
|
67.82 g/t
|
88.35 M oz
|
Source:
- subscription is required.
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
- Subscription is required.
- Subscription is required.