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Chile
Amancaya Mine (Guanaco Operation)

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 Location:
69 km E from Taltal, Chile

  Regional Office:
14 de Febrero 2065, Of. 1103
Antofagasta
Chile
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  • Overview
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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeUnderground
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Sub-level stoping
  • Vertical Crater Retreat
Processing
  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Counter current decantation (CCD)
  • Merrill–Crowe
  • Cyanide (reagent)
Mine Life5 years (as of Jan 1, 2017)
In 2019, Amancaya mine became an underground-only mining operation.
Latest NewsAustral Gold Files Amended Annual Report     April 23, 2018


Owners & OPERATOR

Source: p. 12, 81
CompanyInterestOwnership
Austral Gold Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Guanaco Compañía Minera Ltda. (operator) 100 % Direct
The property is 100% owned by Guanaco Compañía Minera SpA (GCM), and the Amancaya deposit is located within the property boundaries. GCM is a 99.9% owned subsidiary of Guanaco Mining Company Ltd (GMC), which is 100% owned by Austral Gold.

Deposit Type

  • Epithermal
  • Vein / narrow vein


Summary:

The deposit at Amancaya is an epithermal gold and silver deposit, hosted in a steeply dipping structurally controlled quartz vein. Gold mineralization comprises disseminations of native gold and silver, electrum, silver sulphosalts, and accessory sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, and pyrite occurring with quartz, adularia, carbonates, clay minerals, limonite, and manganese oxides. These minerals were deposited from boiling of dilute saline fluids circulating in a hydrothermal system driven by the Eocene to Paleocene magmatism. The hydrothermal vein systems are considered a low sulphidation type based on their metal content and the volcanotectonic setting.

The most relevant mineralization from an exploratory point of view corresponds to the low sulphidation epithermal veins rich in gold and silver. These structures are distributed to the east of the La Peineta Fault System, along a north-south corridor of approximately two kilometres by eight kilometres (Central Veta Sector and Rosario del Llano Mine). They are mostly housed in the basal units of Paleocene (Chile-Alemania Formation, e.g., Amancaya Breccia).

In the Cerro Morros Blancos sector towards the southeast of the Central Vein, there is an area of advanced argillic type alteration that affects the basal units of the Paleocene. This sector is characterized by the presence of fault breccias with alunite and kaolinite, and subhorizontal silicified layers.

To the west of the Peineta Fault system there is mineralization of which the most important is the gold-copper veins of the Amancaya West sector. The veins strike north-south, 020° and 330° possibly associated with a porphyritic system of the Upper Cretaceous. In this sector, moreover, manifestations of IOCG mineralization linked to the Fm. La Negra, have been found.

Finally, thick quartz epithermal veins with iron and copper oxides are recognized in the sector Northwest sector, embedded in Devonian and Triassic units (Las Tórtolas formation and Agua Verde Granodiorite).

All of the veins that occur at Amancaya can be subdivided into two groups according to host units.
• Veins hosted in dacite-andesite domes (Central, Griega, Inesperada, and Cerro Amarillo).
• Veins hosted by breccias, tuffs, and volcanoclastic rocks (Rosario del Llano, Janita, Rosa, Nueva, and Julia etc.).

The main veins have been grouped within the Southern Block (Veta Central, Veta Griega, Veta Julia), and North Block (Veta Janita, Veta Nueva, Veta Rosa, Veta Laureana, Rosario del Llano, etc.).


Mining Methods

  • Sub-level stoping
  • Vertical Crater Retreat


Summary:

The Amancaya Mine underground Mineral Reserves were estimated based on stope designs applied against the Mineral Resource block models for the Central Vein deposit. Planned and unplanned dilution are included in the stope shapes which have been designed for a sub-level stoping mining method.

The sub-level open stoping (SLOS) mining methods employed are similar to those used at the Guanaco Mine. The Amancaya orebody is generally thinner than Guanaco resulting in the use of split-blasting to minimize dilution during drift development. Split blasting involves the separate blasting of ore and waste in the drift face. [p. 285]

Similar to Guanaco, Amancaya will use the vertical crater retreat (VCR) to connect the upper and lower drifts and create and open face for long hole blasting. [p. 285]

Amancaya will utilize the same underground mining equipment fleet from Guanaco. [p. 309]


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Counter current decantation (CCD)
  • Merrill–Crowe
  • Cyanide (reagent)

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

With the acquisition and start of mining at Amancaya, commissioning of a 1,500 tpd agitated leach milling circuit commenced in March 2017, expected to be fully operational by July 2017. [06/16/2017 TR, p. 311]

2018 - First full year operating the new agitation leaching in plant. The Amancaya ore is being trucked to the new plant at Guanaco for processing.

The new construction includes:
• Reversing conveyor to feed either the heap leach operation or the milling circuit
• Covered stockpile
• Single stage ball milling circuit operated in closed circuit with hydro-cyclones
• Pre-leach thickener
• Three-stage agitated leach circuit
• Three-stage counter-current-decantation (CCD) wash circuit
• Filter feed tank and plate and frame pressure filters to recover solution and produce filtered tailings
• Loading with front end loader and truck haulage to dry tailings deposit
• Dry tailings deposit
• Refurbished Merrill-Crowe ........


Combined production numbers are reported under Guanaco Operation

Operational Metrics:

Metrics20192018
Ore tonnes mined  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at December 31, 2019:
For Amancaya, open pit Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 1.5 g/t AuEq. Underground Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 2.5 g/t AuEq.

Underground Mineral Reserves are estimated at break-even cut-off grade of 2.5 g/t AuEq for stopes and an incremental cut-off grade of 1.5 g/t AuEq for drifts.

CategoryOreTypeTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven In-Situ (UG) 264 kt Gold 6.9 g/t 59 koz
Proven In-Situ (UG) 264 kt Silver 32 g/t 274 koz
Probable In-Situ (UG) 243 kt Gold 5.5 g/t 43 koz
Probable In-Situ (UG) 243 kt Silver 25 g/t 196 koz
Proven & Probable In-Situ (UG) 506 kt Gold 6.3 g/t 102 koz
Proven & Probable In-Situ (UG) 506 kt Silver 29 g/t 470 koz
Measured & Indicated In-Situ (OP) 2 kt Gold 8.9 g/t 0.4 koz
Measured & Indicated In-Situ (OP) 2 kt Silver 81 g/t 4 koz
Measured & Indicated In-Situ (UG) 605 kt Gold 8.8 g/t 171 koz
Measured & Indicated Total 607 kt Gold 8.8 g/t 171 koz
Measured & Indicated In-Situ (UG) 605 kt Silver 38 g/t 744 koz
Measured & Indicated Total 607 kt Silver 38 g/t 748 koz
Inferred In-Situ (OP) 23 kt Gold 4.49 g/t 3 koz
Inferred In-Situ (UG) 716 kt Gold 5.96 g/t 137 koz
Inferred Total 739 kt Gold 5.9 g/t 140 koz
Inferred In-Situ (OP) 23 kt Silver 37 g/t 28 koz
Inferred In-Situ (UG) 716 kt Silver 17 g/t 399 koz
Inferred Total 739 kt Silver 18 g/t 426 koz


Heavy Mobile Equipment as of June 16, 2017:
HME TypeModelQuantity
Bulldozer ....................... Subscription required 1
Drill ....................... Subscription required 3
Excavator ....................... Subscription required 1
Grader ....................... Subscription required 1
Loader ....................... Subscription required 2
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required 6
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 29, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 29, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 29, 2020
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2018
Annual Report 2017
Pre-Feasibility Study Report 2017
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Austral Gold Files Amended Annual Report April 23, 2018
Austral Gold Announces Filing of Annual Report March 27, 2018

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