BUENOS AIRES (miningweekly.com) – The first underground blast took place this week at AngloGold Ashanti's Cerro Vanguardia mine, in Argentina's Santa Cruz province.

AngloGold has a 92,5% interest in the currently-openpit mine and Fomicruz, owned by the province of Santa Cruz, holds the balance.

Cerro Vanguardia produces about 200 000 oz of gold and 2,1-million ounces of silver a year, at a cash cost of $390/oz.

The development of an underground mine will help lower costs and will be less environmentally disruptive, Fomicruz president Miguel Ángel Ferro said.

Gold production from underground ore could begin in about seven months, he said.

The underground development will enable the operation to increase its average gold grade from around 5 g/t to more than 9 g/t, Ferro said.

The operation has spent $25-million on the underground project and staff are being trained in underground mining and heap leaching, online news site Prensa Libre reported.

The company is aiming to train local staff new skills, rather than shipping in workers from elsewhere, Ferro told radio station Magna FM.

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