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Canada

Lapa Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusClosing / Closed
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Longitudinal retreat
  • Transverse open stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
SnapshotMining activities at the Lapa mine ceased on December 31, 2018. Closure and rehabilitation activities are underway.

Completed Phase I of landform design and planting. The revegetation at Lapa Mine started in 2020 and will be executed over three years. Relocation of organic material for the entire site was completed in the Winter 2022/2023.

The Lapa mill (renamed LaRonde Zone 5 mill), located adjacent to the LaRonde mill, started to process ore from the LaRonde Zone 5 Mine at a rate of 2,000 tpd, after the closure of the Lapa Mine at the end of 2017.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. 100 % Direct

Deposit type

  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

The Lapa property is located near the southern boundary of the Archean-age (2.7 billion years old) Abitibi Subprovince and the Pontiac Subprovince within the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield. The most important regional structure is the Cadillac-Larder Lake (CLL) fault zone marking the contact between the Abitibi and Pontiac Subprovinces. The fault zone passes through the property from west to east, and is marked by schists and mafic to ultramafic volcanic flows that comprise the Piché group (up to approximately 300 metres thick in the mine area). On the Lapa property, the fault zone displays a "Z" shaped fold to which all of the lithologic groups in the region conform. Feldspathic dykes cut the Piché group, especially near the fold. North of the Piché group lies the Cadillac sedimentary group, which consists of 500 metres or more of well-banded wacke, conglomerate and siltstone with intercalations of iron formation. The Pontiac group sedimentary rocks (up to approximately 300 metres thick) that occur to the south of the Piché group are similar to the Cadillac group but do not contain conglomerate nor iron formation.

All of the known gold mineralization along the CLL fault zone is epigenetic (late) vein type, controlled by the structure. The mineralization is associated with the fault zone and occurs within or immediately adjacent to the Piché group rocks.

The Lapa deposit is comprised of the Contact Zone and five satellite zones. The Contact Zone accounts for approximately 60% of the mineral reserves.

The ore zones are made up of multiple quartz veins and veinlets, often smoky and anastomosing, within a sheared and altered envelope containing minor sulphides and visible gold. The Contact Zone is generally located at the contact between the Piché group and the Cadillac group. The satellite zones are located within the Piché group at a distance varying from ten to 50 metres from the contact with the Cadillac group, except for the satellite zones 7 and 8 at 150 metres from this same contact, and the Contact North Zone, which is located approximately ten metres north of the Contact Zone within the Cadillac group. The sheared envelope consists of millimetre-thick foliation bands of biotite or sericite with silica and, in places, cuts across rock units. Quartz veins and millimetre-sized veinlets parallel to the foliation account for 5% to 25% of the mineralization. Visible gold is common in the veins and veinlets but can also be found in the altered host rock. Sulphides account for 1% to 3% of the mineralization; the most common sulphides, in order of decreasing importance, are arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and stibnite. Graphite is also rarely observed as inclusions in smoky quartz veins.

The Contact and satellite zones are tabular mineralized envelopes oriented east-west and dipping very steeply to the north, turning south at depth. The economic portion of the zone has been traced from depths of approximately 450 metres to more than 1,500 metres below the surface. The Contact Zone has an average strike length of 300 metres, varies in thickness from 2.8 to 5.0 metres and is open at depth. Locally, some thicker intervals have been intersected but their continuity has not been demonstrated. The satellite zones have thicknesses similar to the Contact Zone.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

CommodityUnits20192018201720162015
Silver oz 12
All production numbers are expressed as payable metal.

Operational metrics

Metrics2018201720162015
Tonnes milled 311,013 t398,248 t592,683 t559,926 t
Daily milling rate 1,090 t1,619 t1,534 t

Production Costs

CommodityUnits20182017
Credits (by-product) Gold USD -1 / oz   -2 / oz  
Cash costs Gold USD 819 / oz   801 / oz  
Total cash costs Gold USD 873 / oz   757 / oz  
Total cash costs Gold USD 872 / oz **   755 / oz **  
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

Currency201820172016
Total operating costs ($/t milled) CAD 123  120  121  

Financials

Units20182017
Capital expenditures M USD
Revenue M USD 39.8   64.6  
Gross profit M USD 11.7   24  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 9, 2024

EmployeesTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2018
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2017
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2016
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2015

Aerial view:

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