Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Production Start | ...  |
Mine Life | 7 years (as of Jan 1, 2020) |
The Dual Stream Production Strategy will focus on processing high-grade material through the existing CIL plant and the development of heap leach facilities for processing of lower grade material that is currently treated as waste or stockpiled for future use.
The Company plans to develop two heap leach operations. The first will focus on the Las Calandrias and Escondido deposits at the northern perimeter of the property. A second heap leach operation is to be developed in the Martinetas mining region to process lower grade material.
Las Calandrias is the first of two heap leach projects was initiated the leaching process in June 2023.
The second anticipated heap leach at Martinetas, is expected to be constructed later in 2023 and start production in early 2024 adding an additional 20k ounces of production capacity. |
Latest News | Cerrado Gold Reports Bonanza Gold Grades at MDN, Argentina September 12, 2023 |
Source:
p. 18
Cerrado acquired 100% of Minera Don Nicolás gold mine ("MDN”) on March 16, 2020 from Minera Don Nicolás S.A via Compañia Inversora En Minas S.A. (“CIMINAS”) and Compañia Inversora Argentina Para La Exportacion S.A. (“CIAPEXSA”).
With the completion of the transaction, MDN has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cerrado, and the Company is now the owner and operator of MDN, an open-pit gold mine in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina.
Contractors
- Subscription is required.
Deposit Type
- Epithermal
- Vein / narrow vein
- Sedimentary - Volcanogenic
- Volcanic hosted
Summary:
The gold-silver deposits of the Deseado Massif are hosted in silicic volcanic and volcano-sedimentary Jurassic rocks related to arc or back-arc settings in Andean or extra-Andean settings. The ore geology, textures, mineralogy, restricted alteration, and geochemistry of these mineralised occurrences indicate that they belong to the epithermal class of precious metal deposits. The deposits are mainly associated with quartz +/- calcite +/- adularia +/- illite alteration assemblages interpreted to represent low and intermediate sulphidation epithermal type deposits.
At La Paloma, the Sulfuro-Rocio vein system comprises narrow, arcuate, steeply dipping quartz- breccia veins. Drilling has defined four areas of interest:
• The Sulfuro vein, the principal deposit of economic interest, is represented by a single, well developed quartz vein typically 2 m to 4 m in thickness and has a primarily northwest-south southeast orientation with a steep southwestwardly dip. Associated sulphide minerals include pyrite and minor galena and sphalerite.
• The Ramal Sulfuro vein occurs at the northern end of the main Sulfuro vein and is strongly curved from a north-south orientation to east-west and is typically 2 m to 4 m in thickness.
• The Rocio vein occurs to the west of the main Sulfuro vein. The Rocio vein is typically 2 m to 5 m in thickness and dips steeply to the east. It is also arcuate in shape and sub-parallels the Sulfuro vein.
• The Esperanza ve ........

Summary:
The MDN operation is currently a producing gold mine. Final construction was completed December 2017 for the 1,000 tpd operation.The mine was “designed” for 1,000 tpd and it has reached 1,200 tpd on occasion.
Commissioning of the operation began in December 2017. MDN began operations of a series of conventional open pit mines with a carbon-in-leach facility. Ramp up continued until late 2019. Currently the operation is mining from three active pits (Coyote, Cerro Oro and Sulfuro) at a rate of +1,000 tpd and the mill is able to handle the throughput. As of the effective date of the technical report, further optimisation is being done to both the mining and milling operation. MDN consists of two fully permitted mining areas, each containing a clustered, shallow pits.
Production began with removal of waste for the construction of the tailings storage facility. Marginal grade was stockpiled at the same time and now a long-term, low-grade stockpile has grown to over 500 kt. It continues to grow as all marginal material is stored here.
Mining is currently split 70% – 30% between the Martinetas pits and the La Paloma pits 60 km away, largely due to the high stripping ratio at La Paloma. The three Pantera drills typically drill out blast patterns on a double bench height of 10 m and a 5 m bench when mining mineralised material. Blast holes are typically 3.5” to 4” in diameter. Waste drilling and pre splitting against the final pit wall is done using 5 ........

Source:

- subscription is required.
Flow Sheet:
Summary:

- subscription is required.
Production:
Full year 2020 results only include operations of MDN for the period from acquisition, March 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
Commodity | Units | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Gold
|
oz
| ...... ^ | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | 24,882 |
Silver
|
oz
| | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
^ Guidance / Forecast.
- Subscription is required.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Daily mining rate
| ......  | ......  | 10.8 kt | | |
Daily milling rate
| ......  | ......  | 911 t | | |
Stripping / waste ratio
| ......  | ......  | 14.5 | 22.2 | 22.2 |
Ore tonnes mined
| ......  | ......  | 185.2 kt | 242,232 t | 156,651 t |
Waste
| ......  | ......  | 2,680 kt | 5,387,105 t | 3,470,372 t |
Total tonnes mined
| ......  | ......  | 2,899 kt | | |
Tonnes milled
| ......  | ......  | 245,040 t | 277,029 t | 286,457 t |
Daily ore mining rate
| ......  | ......  | 1,000 t | | |
Daily milling capacity
| ......  | ......  | 972 t | | |
Plant annual capacity
| ......  | ......  | 350,000 t | | |
- Subscription is required.
Reserves at August 31, 2020:
Open pit mineral resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t gold for the open pit portion and 3.0 g/t gold for the underground deposits. Cut-off grades are based on a price of US$1,550 per ounce of gold and gold recoveries of 95 percent at Martinetas and 88 percent at La Paloma, without considering revenues from other metals.
Category | OreType | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Measured
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
249,400 t
|
Gold
|
4.32 g/t
|
34,668 oz
|
Measured
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
249,400 t
|
Silver
|
5.5 g/t
|
44,100 oz
|
Indicated
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
820,600 t
|
Gold
|
5.77 g/t
|
152,237 oz
|
Indicated
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
56,200 t
|
Gold
|
6.59 g/t
|
11,903 oz
|
Indicated
|
Total
|
876,800 t
|
Gold
|
5.82 g/t
|
164,140 oz
|
Indicated
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
820,600 t
|
Silver
|
9.61 g/t
|
183,126 oz
|
Indicated
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
56,200 t
|
Silver
|
8.12 g/t
|
14,677 oz
|
Indicated
|
Total
|
876,800 t
|
Silver
|
9.48 g/t
|
197,803 oz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
1,070,000 t
|
Gold
|
5.43 g/t
|
186,905 oz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
56,200 t
|
Gold
|
6.59 g/t
|
11,903 oz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
Total
|
1,126,200 t
|
Gold
|
5.49 g/t
|
198,808 oz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
1,070,000 t
|
Silver
|
8.39 g/t
|
227,226 oz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
56,200 t
|
Silver
|
8.12 g/t
|
14,677 oz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
Total
|
1,126,200 t
|
Silver
|
8.37 g/t
|
241,903 oz
|
Inferred
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
4,108,400 t
|
Gold
|
1.59 g/t
|
210,476 oz
|
Inferred
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
555,300 t
|
Gold
|
7.74 g/t
|
138,217 oz
|
Inferred
|
Total
|
4,663,700 t
|
Gold
|
2.33 g/t
|
348,693 oz
|
Inferred
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
4,108,400 t
|
Silver
|
3.75 g/t
|
195,252 oz
|
Inferred
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
555,300 t
|
Silver
|
8.41 g/t
|
124,867 oz
|
Inferred
|
Total
|
4,663,700 t
|
Silver
|
4.78 g/t
|
320,118 oz
|
- Subscription is required.