The Conversation (0)
Torex Gold Resources (TSX:TXG) released results of a preliminary economic assessment for its Media Luna project in Mexico. It also announced a new inferred mineral resource estimate of 7.4 million gold equivalent ounces, including 3.98 million ounces of gold and a cut-off grade of 2 grams per tonne of gold equivalent.
Torex Gold Resources (TSX:TXG) released results of a preliminary economic assessment for its Media Luna project in Mexico. It also announced a new inferred mineral resource estimate of 7.4 million gold equivalent ounces, including 3.98 million ounces of gold and a cut-off grade of 2 grams per tonne of gold equivalent.
As quoted in the press release:
The concept for recovery of the Media Luna resource is through underground mining methods at 7,000 t/d with the mineralized material being transported via a hybrid underground / aerial / underground rope conveyor to the ELG processing plant. Processing to produce both a Copper/Gold/Silver concentrate as well as dore bars would be completed using the existing plant and through a circuit to be added for flotation and concentrate handling. Tailings required for paste backfill would be transported back to the underground mine utilizing the same rope conveyor that transported the mineralized material to the processing facility. Production at the ELG mine would continue at 14,000 t/d with the higher grade 7,000 tonnes directed to the processing plant and the lower grade 7,000 tonnes directed to stockpile for processing in the future. (See also “Potential Impact of PEA on ELG Mine Plan”) Development of the Media Luna resource would take place over a four year period, with capital for the construction of the processing plant additions delayed until the latter two years.
Torex president and CEO, Fred Stanford, said:
Our strategy has always been to get the El Limon-Guajes (“ELG”) resource up to 5 million ounces and build the mine, find a second mine on the same property and build that one as well. Progress toward completion of the construction of the ELG Mine continues to be excellent, and this PEA for the Media Luna resource illustrates the potential viability of those resources on the same property both on a commercial and social basis. The conceptual mine design, as proposed in the PEA, is innovative and elegant in the way that it turns technical and social challenges into commercial advantages. The design minimizes the amount of land required, provides the potential for long term employment opportunities for neighbouring communities, and utilizes the recently built ELG infrastructure to minimize security exposures and to control costs. The fact that this PEA is based on exploiting only 31% of the targeted magnetic anomalies is a testament to the potential of the Media Luna anomalies to support an expansion of the existing mineral resources.