Overview
| Stage | Production |
| Mine Type | Open Pit |
| Commodities |
|
| Mining Method |
|
| Processing |
- Heap leach
- Agitated tank leaching
- Carbon adsorption
- Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
- Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
- Cyanide (reagent)
|
| Mine Life | 7 years (as of Jan 1, 2016) |
Pucamarca is one of the world’s most profitable gold mines, due to its low production cost and operational efficiency. |
Source:
p. 1
Minsur S.A. (hereinafter, the "Company") was incorporated in Peru in October 1977. The Company's activities are regulated by the General Mining Law. The Company is a subsidiary of Inversiones Breca S.A., a company domiciled in Peru, which holds 99.99% of the Company’s common shares and 6.31% of its investment shares.
Processing Technologies
- Heap leach
- Agitated tank leaching
- Carbon adsorption
- Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
- Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
- Cyanide (reagent)
Source:
Summary:
Crushing: During this stage of the production process the size of ore from the mine is reduced to less than 5 inches. In addition, lime is added to achieve protective alkalinity.
Leaching: The crushed ore is moved to the leaching pad and is deposited in an area of 10,000 m2 to extract the metal from the rock using a solution of 200 ppm sodium cyanide giving an average consumption of 0.12 kg/ton of ore.
Subsequently the gold-rich solution is collected by the drain pipes placed on the geomembrane, which are protected by a 1.5 inch layer of crushed rock (“Overliner”) on the pad. This solution is sent to the PLS pool (pregnant leach solution).
ADR Plant – Active carbon absorption: The rich solution from the PLS pool is pumped to 5 beds of activated carbon, where the metal values are adsorbed. The impoverished solution is
discharged into the sludge tank, where the concentration of NaCN is adjusted to 200 ppm and then pumped into the leaching heaps, thu ........
Recoveries & Grades:
| Commodity | Parameter | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|
Gold
|
Recovery Rate, %
| ...... | ...... | ...... | ...... | ...... |
|
Gold
|
Head Grade, g/t
| 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | |
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Production:
| Commodity | Units | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|
Gold
|
oz
| 100,010 | 105,659 | 120,924 | 105,939 | 116,665 |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
Operational Metrics:
| Metrics | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|
Tonnes milled
| ...... | 7,692,322 t | 7,839,602 t | 5,933,665 t | |
|
Daily milling capacity
| ...... | | 21,000 t | | |
|
Daily processing capacity
| ...... | | | | 14,000 t of ore |
Reserves at December 31, 2017:
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
|
Proven & Probable
|
36.41 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.52 g/t
|
607.3 koz
|
|
Total Resource
|
71.01 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.41 g/t
|
943.1 koz
|
Operating Costs:
| | Units | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|
Total operating costs ($/t milled)
|
USD
| 4.33 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 6.2 |
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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Aerial view:
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