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Mexico
El Castillo Complex (El Castillo Mine, San Agustin Mine)

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 Location:
100 N from Durango, Durango, Mexico

  Regional Office:
Plaza San Pedro No. 113
Real de Prado
Victoria de Durango
Durango, Mexico
34080
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Fax01(677) 866 0733
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Financials
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Heap leach
  • Carbon in column (CIC)
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)
Mine Life9 years (as of Jan 1, 2017)
San Agustin operation commenced commercial production effective October 1, 2017.
Latest NewsArgonaut Gold Provides Operations and Alio Merger Update     May 15, 2020


Owners

Source: p. 9
CompanyInterestOwnership
Argonaut Gold Inc. 100 % Indirect

Deposit Type

  • Porphyry
  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork


Summary:

At El Castillo, gold is mainly associated with pyrite occurring as fracture fillings or stockworks and also occurring within areas of hydrothermal brecciation. Pyrite with gold also occurs as disseminations especially within intrusive rocks. Within the mine the host environment for gold mineralization is dominated by an alternating pattern of sediments and parallel intrusive sills that strike to the northwest and dip steeply to the northeast. The sedimentary units generally vary from 20 to 40 metres wide as do the intrusive sills. Many of the sills appear to have intruded along bedding planes by splitting the tabular sedimentary blocks into their present positions. This geologic event resulted in the unique alternating pattern of sediments and intrusive sills/breccias that are observed throughout the mine area. Extensive fracturing of the sedimentary blocks created favorable secondary permeability for the deposition of gold mineralization predominately associated with pyrite. As a result of this ground preparation, the northwest striking sediments can be better mineralized than the surrounding intrusive rocks.

There are two main controls to mineralization. The more important of these is a close association between gold and sedimentary stratigraphy that generally strikes northwest and dips to the northeast. The favored permeability and chemistry of these rocks strongly influenced the distribution and geometry of mineralization. The second control to mineralization is related to a northeast structural fabric that provided the main conduits to the mineral system. The combination of these geologic controls resulted in a northeast elongated gold zone that measures approximately 1,600 metres by 1,300 metres.

As with the nearby El Castillo property, the San Agustin Project does not fit entirely into an epithermal classification. The San Agustin deposit appears genetically and spatially related to a quartz monzonite stock with intense phyllic alteration and local tourmaline breccias. These factors may point towards a telescoped system associated with a deeper porphyry center. This is supported by broad zones of potassic alteration that are overlapped by pervasive phyllic alteration; however, locally on surface and in some drill holes boiling textures, suggestive of an epithermal system do occur. Mineralization is mainly associated with sulfides that fill fractures and occur in the matrix of hydrothermal breccias. These form an extensive system of sulfide stockworks dominated by pyrite with lesser percentages of sphalerite and galena. Mineralization is often contained within adularia haloes and can be associated with calcite veinlets.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

The mining method employed at the El Castillo Mine consists of traditional open pit drill and blast operations followed by excavator loading of rigid body haul trucks for ore transport to heap leach pad or crusher with waste transported to designated dump locations.

San Agustin Pit, was designed with five mining phases and contains 72.4M t of Indicated mineral resources at an average grade of 0.32 g/t Au and 10.6 g/t Ag. The life-of-mine strip ratio is 0.39:1. Pit resources were broken into two different material types designated for heap leach processing: high-grade and low-grade. At a 6M tpy production rate of high-grade material during the first year and then increasing to 10.8M tpy from the second year to the end of mine life, it is expected that the potential mine life will be 6.5 years. The production schedule targeted a consistent total mine tonnage of approximately 18M tpy, consisting of high-grade, low-grade, and waste material.

The dimensions of the San Agustin Pit are 1,500 m in the east-west and 1,100 m in the north-south directions. One primary waste dump was designed and located 500 m south of the San Agustin Pit. An overview of the San Agustin Pit and waste dump.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Heap leach
  • Carbon in column (CIC)
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

The El Castillo Mine currently processes oxide and transition gold ore through a conventional heap leaching operation that includes single-stage and two-stage crushing , truck and portable conveyor transport to multi-lift heap leach pads, irrigation with cyanide solution, and gold recovery through Carbon-in-Column (“CIC”) gold recovery circuits. Loaded carbon is transported to the Corporation’s La Colorada Mine facilities for further processing to a final doré.

The current cut-off grade is 0.15 g/t gold. Softer ore with grades from 0.15 g/t gold and higher grade and harder ore from 0.15 g/t to 0.25 g/t gold are classified as single-stage crushed ore and are delivered to the West Crusher and crushed to -6 inches. Harder ore with grades greater than 0.25 g/t gold is classified as higher grade ore and transition ore with grades greater than 0.21 g/t gold are two-stage crushed at the East Crusher to -1 inches before being delivered to the leach pad by a portable conveyor system ........


Production:

CommodityUnits201920182017
Gold Equivalent oz  ......  Subscription required117,126
Gold oz  ......  Subscription required
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Reserves at December 31, 2018:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven & Probable 115.4 Mt Gold 0.34 g/t 1,249 koz
Proven & Probable 86.1 Mt Gold 0.35 g/t 982 koz
Proven & Probable 115.4 Mt Silver 10.2 g/t 25,593 koz
Proven & Probable 57.9 Mt Silver 10.2 g/t 20,202 koz
Measured & Indicated 154.3 Mt Gold 0.31 g/t 1,560 koz
Measured & Indicated 128.3 Mt Gold 0.32 g/t 1,332 koz
Measured & Indicated 154.3 Mt Silver 9.6 g/t 29,466 koz
Measured & Indicated 83.1 Mt Silver 9.6 g/t 25,678 koz
Inferred 4.8 Mt Gold 0.37 g/t 56 koz
Inferred 3.9 Mt Silver 7.8 g/t 965 koz

Financials:

Units2019201820172016
Capital expenditures M USD  ......  Subscription required24.2  63.1   14.2  
Revenue M USD  ......  Subscription required133.64  89.8   72  
Operating Income M USD  ......  Subscription required-16.08  16.1   12.1  
Gross profit M USD  ......  Subscription required11.5  18.4   12.8  
Subscription required - Subscription is required


Heavy Mobile Equipment as of December 31, 2016:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantity
Drill ....................... Subscription required 2
Drill ....................... Subscription required 2
Loader (FEL) ....................... Subscription required 1
Loader (FEL) ....................... Subscription required 4
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required 100 t 4
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required 100 t 15
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 2, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 2, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 3, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
Subscription required Subscription required Subscription required 2017

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Annual Information Form 2018
Financial Review 2018
Management Discussion & Analysis 2018
Technical Report 2018
Annual Information Form 2017
Financial Review 2017
Management Discussion & Analysis 2017
Annual Information Form 2016
Preliminary Economic Assessment 2016
Annual Information Form 2015
Annual Information Form 2014
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Argonaut Gold Provides Operations and Alio Merger Update May 15, 2020
Argonaut Gold Announces Expected Timing of Resumption of Mining Operations April 23, 2020
Argonaut Gold Announces Mexican Federal Government Issues Degree to Temporarily Suspend All Non-Essential Businesses, Including Mining, Until April 30, 2020 Due To COVID-19 April 1, 2020

Aerial view:

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