Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Production Start | ...  |
Mine Life | 5 years (as of Jan 1, 2022) |
Mining operations at the Mulatos Mine consist of the Mulatos open pit complex and the Yaqui Grande open pit and heap leach facility.
Puerto Del Aire (“PDA”) is a new higher-grade underground deposit located adjacent to the main Mulatos pit. A new development plan for PDA is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023 which will incorporate recent exploration success including a 71% increase in combined Mineral Reserves and Resources to one million ounces at the end of 2022. |
Source:
p. 12,46
The Mulatos group of concessions covers the Mulatos deposit and satellite gold systems known as Cerro Pelon, La Yaqui, El Carricito, El Halcon, Las Carboneras, El Jaspe, Puebla, Los Bajios, and La Dura. Mineral rights for all concessions comprising the Mulatos Group of Concessions are controlled by Minas de Oro Nacional, the Mexican subsidiary of Alamos.
Contractors
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Deposit Type
- Epithermal
- Breccia pipe / Stockwork
Summary:
The Mulatos mineral deposits are large epithermal, high-sulfidation, disseminated gold deposits. Gold mineralization is closely associated with silicic alteration within extensive areas of argillic and advanced argillic alteration. The Mulatos deposit proper is composed of the contiguous Estrella, El Salto, Mina Vieja, and Puerto del Aire Mineral Resource areas. The Escondida deposit is the faulted extension of the Mina Vieja and El Salto sub-deposits and is believed to be continuous to the northeast with the Gap, El Victor, and San Carlos mineralized areas. Although zones are often bounded by post-mineral faults, together they form a trend of 2.7 km of gold mineralization starting at the north end of the Estrella pit to the San Carlos deposit.
Within the larger Mulatos Group of Concessions, and generally within 20 km from the Mulatos deposit, geologically similar high sulfidation gold deposits, occurrences, or prospects are known.
Gold deposits of the Mulatos district are considered to be high sulphidation-state epithermal systems. Epithermal precious metal systems may be classified as high, intermediate, and low sulphidation styles. They are characterized by the sulphidation state of the hypogene sulphide mineral assemblage, and show general relations in volcano-tectonic setting, precious and base metal content, igneous rock association, proximal hypogene alteration, and sulphide abundance. Ore in all occurrences is of the type formed under epizonal conditions, that is, g ........

Summary:
The mining at Mulatos is currently by open pit mining with the addition of underground operations likely to start within three years time. Open pit mining commenced at Mulatos in 2005 and has continued un-interrupted within the main pit area. Alamos Gold has completed mining at the Victor, San Carlos, Yaqui Phase 1, and Cerro Pelon open pits.
Main Mulatos Pit
The open pit mining is a typical drill, blast, load haul operation with mining in the main pit being done with 9 meter bench heights. The open pit schedule calls for an average of 17,500 tonnes of ore per day. Open pit mining is carried out by a contractor under the direction of Mulatos staff. Waste is delivered to waste dumps south of the pit and ore is delivered to the crushing area where it is either direct dumped into the primary crusher or put on to a short term pad. The contractor currently operates with a fleet of three CAT 992 front end loaders, 14 CAT 777 haul trucks, three drills and various pieces of support equipment. El Salto, on the west side of the main pit, is the last in a series of pushbacks and is expected to be completed in Q3 of 2023 based on current Mineral Reserves.
La Yaqui Grande Pit
Pre-stripping of the La Yaqui Grande pit commenced in December of 2020. Ore mining started in January of 2022 with some ore being used to produce over liner for the heap leach pad and the remainder being stockpiled until commissioning of the crusher commenced in May 2022. In the fourt ........

Source:

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Flow Sheet:
Summary:

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Production:
Commodity | Units | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Gold
|
koz
| ...... ^ | ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  | 176 | 160 |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
^ Guidance / Forecast.
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Operational Metrics:
Metrics | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Ore tonnes mined
| ......  | ......  | ......  | 5,641,346 t | 7,166,679 t | 8,527,983 t |
Waste
| ......  | ......  | ......  | 9,534,900 t | 7,095,650 t | 6,037,427 t |
Total tonnes mined
| ......  | ......  | ......  | 15,176,245 t | 14,262,329 t | 17,316,741 t |
Tonnes processed
| ......  | ......  | ......  | 7,308,457 t | 7,289,811 t | 6,886,855 t |
Daily processing rate
| ......  | ......  | ......  | 20,000 t | 20,000 t | 18,900 t |
Stripping / waste ratio
| ......  | ......  | ......  | 0.68 | 0.73 | 0.71 |
^ Guidance / Forecast.
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Reserves at December 31, 2022:
Mineral Resources Cut-off grades are: Mulatos Main Open Pit - 0.5 g/t Au; La Yaqui Grande - 0.3 g/t Au; Carricito - 0.3 g/t Au, PDA Underground - 2.5 g/t Au.
Mineral Reserve cut-off grade for the Mulatos Pit, stockpile and the La Yaqui Pitt are determined as a net of process value of $0.10 per tonne for each model block. Cut-off grade for Puerto del Aire is 3.00g/t.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven
|
3,825 kt
|
Gold
|
2.32 g/t
|
285 koz
|
Probable
|
22,909 kt
|
Gold
|
1.89 g/t
|
1,394 koz
|
Probable
|
16,263 kt
|
Silver
|
17.97 g/t
|
9,396 koz
|
Proven & Probable
|
26,734 kt
|
Gold
|
1.95 g/t
|
1,679 koz
|
Measured
|
1,054 kt
|
Gold
|
1.79 g/t
|
61 koz
|
Indicated
|
9,248 kt
|
Gold
|
1.49 g/t
|
442 koz
|
Indicated
|
1,506 kt
|
Silver
|
10.95 g/t
|
530 koz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
10,302 kt
|
Gold
|
1.52 g/t
|
502 koz
|
Inferred
|
1,774 kt
|
Gold
|
1.27 g/t
|
72 koz
|
Inferred
|
175 kt
|
Silver
|
7.94 g/t
|
45 koz
|
Source:

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Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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