Source:
p. 68
All licenses of Aurizona mine are 100% held by Equinox Gold via its wholly owned subsidiaries Mineração Aurizona S.A (MASA) and Luna Gold Pesquisa Mineral LTDA (Luna Gold).
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Deposit Type
- Breccia pipe / Stockwork
- Orogenic
- Vein / narrow vein
Summary:
The Aurizona Property mineralization is characterized as a greenstone-hosted orogenic gold system. Mineralization occurs as structurally-controlled gold deposits including the Piaba deposit, which is currently being mined. Piaba, Boa Esperança, Tatajuba and Genipapo deposits are on and adjacent to the Aurizona Shear Zone (ASZ), a regional northeast-striking structure. Touro is 16 km southwest of the Aurizona Mine which hosts gold mineralization within an intrusive unit. These deposits are hosted by Paleoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary and intrusive rocks of the São Luis Craton, an eastern extension of the Guyana Shield which contains several major Proterozoic gold deposits including Las Cristinas, Omai, and Rosebel, extending from Venezuela to Brazil.
The Property geology is dominated by volcano-sedimentary sequences of the 2.23-2.24 Ga Aurizona Group (Klein et al, 2015), and granitoids of the Tromaí Intrusive Suite. The Aurizona Group is comprised of felsic, intermediate, and mafic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, as well as metasedimentary rocks. The bedrock units are covered by Phanerozoic sedimentary basin deposits and recent coastal sediments.
Gold mineralization at Piaba and the other deposits is generally associated with subvertical tabular zones of intense shearing and hydrothermal alteration consisting of quartz-carbonatesericite±chlorite. Quartz±carbonate shear veins are the primary host for gold mineralization with flat to shallow dippin ........

Summary:
The Aurizona Mine is an open pit operation using conventional mining equipment. Open pit mining is being completed by a local Brazilian contractor. The Life-of-Mine (LOM) plan includes the addition of underground mining beneath the Piaba pit that assists in extending the mine life to 2032.
The mine schedule is based on 2021 reserves using the Piaba, Piaba East, Boa Esperança, Tatajuba, and Genipapo pit areas plus the Piaba Underground. It totals 32.3 Mt of proven and probable ore grading 1.60 g/t gold to the process plant over a current design life of 11 years. The ore tonnage is made up of 16.6 Mt of proven reserves grading 1.39 g/t gold and 15.7 Mt of probable reserves grading 1.82 g/t gold and includes 0.3 Mt of proven ore at 0.92 g/t gold currently in the stockpile from 2021 mining activity. Waste tonnage totals 96.9 Mt to be placed in the various waste rock management facilities. The overall strip ratio is 3.79:1 mined.
Highwall slope angle criteria vary by area and pit. Previous slope study work by third party consultants remains valid and was used in the update of the pit designs. The slope information from Piaba was applied to Tatajuba and Genipapo due to similar lithology and weathering profiles.
In general, the inter-ramp angles vary from 33 to 60 degrees depending on pit area and wall orientation. This is due to foliation present parallel to the walls in certain zones.
Five open pit areas are considered in the reserv ........

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Flow Sheet:
Summary:

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Reserves at June 30, 2021:
Cut-off grades are 0.3 g/t Au for open pit Mineral Resources and 1.0 g/t Au for underground Mineral Resources.
Cut-off grades used for Mineral Reserves:
• Piaba Open Pit – 0.35 g/t (laterite, saprolite, transition), 0.41 g/t (rock);
• Tatajuba Open Pit – 0.43 g/t (laterite, saprolite, transition), 0.47 g/t (rock);
• Boa Esperança, Genipapo Open Pit – 0.36 g/t (laterite, saprolite);
• Piaba Underground – 1.80 g/t (rock).
Category | OreType | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
16,581 kt
|
Gold
|
1.39 g/t
|
740 koz
|
Probable
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
15,749 kt
|
Gold
|
1.82 g/t
|
920 koz
|
Proven & Probable
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
32,330 kt
|
Gold
|
1.6 g/t
|
1,660 koz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
Total
|
18,117 kt
|
Gold
|
1.49 g/t
|
868 koz
|
Inferred
|
Total
|
12,689 kt
|
Gold
|
2.19 g/t
|
895 koz
|
Water sources are required for mineral processing, potable uses, and industrial uses. All sources are currently approved by SEMA-MA. The major sources of raw water supply for the plant are provided from Lake Pirocaua and reclaim water at site. Raw water storage at site is 1.5 M m3 .
Reclaim water is sourced from the Vené Tailings Storage Facility, Piaba pit dewatering, and recirculation of solution recovered from the pre-leach. Once excavated, the Boa Esperança pit will serve as a water storage reservoir.
Potable water is drawn from a cased well with a flow rate of approximately 4 m3 /hour, as well as from the municipal water treatment plant (Lycopodium, 2017). Water quality is monitored in accordance with standards established by the Ministry of Health.
Upgrades to infrastructure completed in 2018 include a sewage treatment plant.
Raw Water: Water is sourced asreclaim water from the TSF supernatant and in combination with other local fresh water sources. Raw water is used for fire water for emergency use, cooling water for mill gearboxes and mill lubrication systems, carbon elution/intensive leach/dust suppression, reagent preparation and gland water. A new fresh water source will be made available in 2022 when mining ceases at the Boa Esperança pit and that then becomes a freshwater storage pond.
The Aurizona site has a net positive water balance due to the high levels of precipitation annually. Process water included with the tailings is stored in the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) and recycled to the process plant. Fresh water storage will be sourced from the Boa Esperança reservoir, following the mining of this small pit later in 2021. The level of the supernatant in the TSF fluctuates significantly from wet season to dry season and it is continuously monitored to update the water balance and calibrated twice annually using bathymetry.
For groundwater, MASA has two permits ensuring the right to use water. The first legal process (1160511/2018) authorizes the use of 10 m³/h (200 m³/day) of water and the second legal process (130210/2018) authorizes the catchment of 6 m³/h (120 m³/day) for industrial use purposes. For surface water, MASA has the grant of use No. 0354201/2019 for the catchment of 600m³/day (25m³/h) from Boa Esperança Lagoon, grant of use No. 0500001/2019 for the catchment of 660m³/day (27m³/h) from Louro Lagoon and grant of use No. 0431503/2018 for the catchment of 360m³/day (15m³/h) from Zé Bolacha.
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