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Brazil

Palito Mine

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Categories

Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Copper
Mining Method
  • Shrinkage stoping
  • Longhole stoping
  • Sub-level open stoping (SLOS)
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SnapshotThe Palito and São Chico deposits, together the Palito Complex.

The Palito deposit will continue to be able to successfully produce in the region of 30,000 ounces per annum potentially for many years to come.

The ability to start gold production from Coringa has helped take up some of the shortfall in production that will arise from the plan to focus on growing the mineable resource at Sao Chico and the mining activities at Sao Chico will be suspended during this time.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Serabi Gold Plc. 100 % Indirect
Serabi Mineração S.A. (operator) 100 % Direct
Serabi is the operator and owns 100% of the Palito and Sao Chico Mines

Serabi Mineraçao SA - containing the Palito and São Chico gold mines.

Deposit type

  • Intrusion related
  • Mesothermal
  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

The Palito and São Chico gold deposits are located within the northern portion of the Tapajós-Parima Orogenic Belt (TPOB), a constituent of the Ventauri-Tapajós province of the Guaporé Shield. Formed between 2.5 and 1.8 Ga, the TPOB is a northwest oriented magmatic arc bound to the north by the Amazonian Basin and to the south by the Cachimbo Graben. Within the TPOB, the Tapajós Gold Province hosts numerous primary gold deposits over an area of approximately 300 kilometers (km) by 350 km.

Mineralization at the Palito and São Chico deposits is hosted in granite and granodiorite of the Paráuari suite. Mineralization at the Palito Mine is hosted within three granitoids and is intimately associated with northwest-southeast vertical to sub-vertical mesothermal quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite veins and pyrite disseminations filling the brittle-ductile fault sets. At Palito, the nature of sulfide mineralization varies along the strike and plunge extents of the deposit. Pyrite and chalcopyrite dominate in the granites, whereas pyrrhotite and pyrite with lesser chalcopyrite are found in the granodiorite. Within the granodiorites, the pyrrhotite-pyrite sulfides tend to be lower grade due to lower chalcopyrite content.

The Main Vein at São Chico strikes in a broadly west-northwest direction, dips steeply to the south, and ranges from approximately 1.0 to 3.9 meters (m) in apparent width. Mineralization extends approximately 140 m down dip and approximately 100 m along strike, and is open down dip and plunging to the west; to the east, mineralization is open for a minimum of 80 m along strike. The fault zone is variably mineralized, with both sinuous and regular quartz veining, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite and electrum.

Gold deposits in the Tapajós Gold Province can be broadly classified into three main types:
- Mesozonal deposits;
- Epizonal intrusion centered or intrusion related deposits; and
- Alluvial, colluvial and supergene enriched saprolitic deposits.

The mineralogy and textures of the deposits at the Palito Mining Complex is consistent with a model for an intrusion related mesothermal gold-copper mineralization. This relatively new classification of gold deposits is associated with granitic rocks and are best developed above and surrounding small, granitic intrusions. Mineralization styles can manifest as stockworks, breccia, skarns and lode style veins, and have a clear metal association zonation.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnits20232022202120202019201820172016
Gold Metal in conc./ doré oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe40,10137,10837,00439,390
Copper Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe0.911.31.9
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics2022202120202019201820172016
Daily processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe500 t
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe176.24 kt162.72 kt168.88 kt158.86 kt
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe177,335 t168,253 t172,565 t158,966 t

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20212020201920182017
Total cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 832 / oz **   821 / oz **   799 / oz **  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 1,081 / oz **   1,093 / oz **   1,071 / oz **  
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency202120202019201820172016
UG mining costs ($/t milled) USD 144  130  120  125  112  110  
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Financials

Units20212020201920182017
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 4.5   4.4   4.4  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 59.9   43.3   48.4  
Operating Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 8.4   -2.7   -0.7  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 13.7   2.9   5  
Pre-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 6.2   -4.8   -1.7  
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 3.8   -5.8   -2.4  
Operating Cash Flow M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 18.5   1.6   8.2  
Book Value M USD  ....  Subscribe 11.3   10.4   3.7  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 20, 2023
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EmployeesYear
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Aerial view:

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