PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed junior Orinoco Gold has temporarily suspended operations at its Cascavel gold mine, in Brazil, as the operation failed to meet expectations.
Orinoco said on Friday that nonessential staff and contractors would be stood down while a full technical review of the operation was undertaken as bullion shipments continued to be below expectations.
The review would focus on the process plant, ongoing metallurgical issues affecting the concentrate, and the development and scheduling issues preventing sufficient high-grade ore being delivered from the mine to the plant.
Orinoco said the suspension would allow time to optimise the Cascavel plant and processes to more effectively process the planned feed of mineralised waste and production material.
The company added that attempts so far to deal with the recovery issues had been hindered by the inability of in-country assay laboratories to turn around accurate samples for assay in a timely manner. Negotiations were continuing with local authorities for the necessary environmental approvals to allow a dedicated on-site laboratory.
Meanwhile, the suspension of mining activities would allow Orinoco’s newly appointed mining engineer to plan better access to the high-grade south end of the mine, to ensure a higher-grade blend of ore feed to the plant when operations restart.
The Cascavel mine shipped its first gold earlier this month, comprising gold produced from stockpiled development material.