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Canada
Bell Creek Mine (Timmins Operation)

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 Location:
14 km NE from Timmins, Ontario, Canada

  Address:
3160 Florence Street
Porcupine
Ontario, Canada
P0N 1C0
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WebsiteWeb
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeUnderground
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Longhole stoping
Processing
  • Gravity separation
  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Carbon in leach (CIL)
  • Carbon in pulp (CIP)
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)
Mine Life10 years (as of Jan 1, 2015)
The Timmins operation consists of two underground gold mines, the Timmins West mine and the Bell Creek mine, which both feed the Bell Creek mill.


Owners

Source: p. 11
CompanyInterestOwnership
Pan American Silver Corp. 100 % Indirect
On February 22, 2019 the Company completed a transaction whereby Pan American acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Tahoe Resources Inc.

Deposit Type

  • Vein / narrow vein
  • Mesothermal


Summary:

Mesothermal shear hosted gold mineralization in the Bell Creek mine area occurs along selvages of quartz veins and wall rocks, in stylolitic fractures in quartz veins, in fine grained pyrite, and in association with amorphous carbon. High grade gold mineralization occurs within quartz veins contained in alteration zones.

Gold mineralization in the Bell Creek area as occurring along selvages of quartz veins and wall rocks, in stylolitic fractures in quartz veins, in fine grained pyrite, and in association with amorphous carbon. High grade gold mineralization occurs within quartz veins contained in alteration zones. The alteration zones are characterized by carbonate, graphitic and amorphous carbon, fine grained pyrite, sericite, and/or paragonite and are enriched in Au, As, Bi, and W. This style of alteration is referred to by mine geologists as “grey zones” and is an exploration target in Hoyle Township.

The Bell Creek mineralization differs in style from many deposits in the Porcupine Mining camp in being composed largely of disseminated pyrite-pyrrhotite-related mineralization; slightly younger gold-bearing quartz veins may be present but are not predominant.  This style of mineralization occurs in the deeper parts of the Dome Mine and in the Rusk Zone at the Timmins West mine, but is more common to the east, in the Holloway-Holt McDermott area and at the Larder Lake, where pyritic mineralization is often termed “flow ore” (Rhys 2012).


Mining Methods

  • Longhole stoping


Summary:

The primary access at the Bell Creek Mine is via a portal and main ramp from surface. Personnel, materials, and ore and waste rock are transferred to/from the surface via a main ramp that is 5 metres wide x 5 metres high. All active production levels in the mine are accessed from the ramp system. Secondary access/egress is through a manway in a historic shaft that extends approximately 300 metres from the surface.

Narrow vein longitudinal longhole stoping with unconsolidated rock fill is the primary mining method used at the Bell Creek Mine. Sublevels are established at 15 to 20 metre vertical intervals. On each sublevel, the resource is typically accessed near the center of the deposit (along strike) with stope undercut and overcut sills developed along the eastern and western extents of the ore. Stope lengths are generally 20 metres along strike. Longitudinal mining retreats from the furthest stope from the access, toward the initial access point.

In 2017, the average mining rate at the Bell Creek Mine was approximately 960 tonnes of ore per day.

In 2017,the Company initiated rehabilitation of the existing shaft and began extending the shaft from the 300 metre depth to the 1080 metre level elevation. The shaft will be equipped to hoist both ore and waste and is expected to double the existing production capacity of the mine, extend the mine life and allow for accelerated delineation of the deep resources as well as exploration at depth.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Gravity separation
  • Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
  • Carbon in leach (CIL)
  • Carbon in pulp (CIP)
  • Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
  • Cyanide (reagent)

Source: Subscription required

Summary:

Ore from the Bell Creek Mine is milled at the Bell Creek Mill. The processing plant consists of a one-stage crushing circuit, ore storage dome, one-stage grinding circuit with gravity recovery, followed by pre-oxidation and cyanidation of the slurry with carbon-in-leach (CIL) and carbon-in-pulp (CIP) recovery. Recovery of the gold from the carbon is a batch process where the carbon is stripped, cleaned with acid, reactivated in a kiln and reused in the circuit.

The loaded solution from the strip circuit is passed through two electro-winning cells in the refinery where the gold collects on the cathodes in a sludge form. The cells are washed weekly and the sludge is collected in filter bags and dried. The dried sludge is then mixed with reagents and melted in an induction furnace with gold bullion bars poured when the melt is completed.

The gravity gold material collected from the Knelson concentrator is transferred to the refinery and a gravity table is used to inc ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter201520142013
Gold Head Grade, g/t 4.45.14.41
Gold Recovery Rate, % 94.1

Production:

CommodityUnits201520142013
Gold oz 39,70043,40027,413
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics20192017201620152014
Daily processing capacity  ......  Subscription required3,000 t3,000 t
Ore tonnes mined  ......  Subscription required352 kt0.2 Mt
Daily ore mining rate  ......  Subscription required960 t900 t
Tonnes processed  ......  Subscription required319.3 kt296,200 t274,700 t
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at January 1, 2018:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven 0.5 Mt Gold 3.9 g/t 68 koz
Probable 1.9 Mt Gold 4.12 g/t 246 koz
Proven & Probable 2.4 Mt Gold 4.07 g/t 315 koz
Measured 1.2 Mt Gold 4.43 g/t 167 koz
Indicated 4.1 Mt Gold 4.27 g/t 569 koz
Measured & Indicated 5.3 Mt Gold 4.31 g/t 736 koz
Inferred 3 Mt Gold 4.36 g/t 315 koz

Operating Costs:

Units2017
UG mining costs ($/t milled) USD 71.8
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ......  Subscription required
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Financials:

Units2017
Sustaining costs M USD 17.4  
Capital expenditures M USD 69.3  


Heavy Mobile Equipment as of December 31, 2014:
HME TypeSizeQuantity
Drill jumbo (single boom) 3
Drill jumbo (two boom) 2
Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) 8 cu. yd 1
Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) 6 cu. yd 3
Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) 3.5 cu. yd 3
Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) 2 cu. yd 4
Load-Haul-Dump (LHD) 1.5 cu. yd 1
Truck (underground) 42 t 2
Truck (underground) 50 t 5

Mine Management:

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


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2019
Corporate Presentation 2018
Management Discussion & Analysis 2018
Press Release 2018
Year-end Mineral Reserves 2018
Annual Information Form 2017
Management Discussion & Analysis 2017
Management Discussion & Analysis 2016
Annual Information Form 2015
Financial Review 2015
Annual Information Form 2014
Technical Report 2014
Annual Information Form 2013
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Aerial view:

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