PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold developer Orinoco Gold has restarted mine development at its Cascavel operation, in Brazil.
Operations at Cascavel were suspended in October after the mine failed to meet production expectations, but a subsequent independent technical review advised the restart of the mine, concluding that the mine and plant issues experienced during the start-up were common commissioning problems easily fixed.
Orinoco said on Tuesday that the company was now working on the development of new access to the underground workings to allow larger scale, more efficient mechanised mining equipment to be deployed, increasing the supply of high-grade ore to the processing plant by amending the mine plan to provide for improved access to the higher-grade southern portion of the mine, and improving gold recoveries by enhancing the liberation of gold from the ore by implementing some minor modifications to the existing mill.
The company will also work to enhance assay turnaround and accuracy through the installation of an on-site assay laboratory.
The revised mine plan is expected to deliver some 80 000 t/y to the processing plant, double the initially planned mine capacity, and will allow for various selective mining methods to be trialled.
Mine development has now restarted with the initial development focusing on adding new access ramps and new development headings, allowing for the deployment of larger-scale mining equipment.
Civil works for the on-site laboratory have also started, while an owner-operator workforce has been sourced and has completed the induction process.