JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South Arturo mine, in Carlin, Nevada, in the US, has delivered pleasing results for the third quarter ended September 30, delivering 75 570 oz since the start of commercial production in August.
TSX-listed Premier Gold, which owns 40% of the mine, said on Wednesday that 30 228 oz was attributable to it.
The mine, which was brought into production on time and under budget, has exceeded production guidance by about 50% year-to-date, owing to revised scheduling of ore through the roaster.
Recoveries have also been slightly higher owing to the grade processed.
Premier expects to report output of 100 000 oz to 110 000 oz from its interest in South Arturo and the recently acquired Mercedes Mine in Sonora, Mexico, for the full year.
About 80% of targeted production is anticipated during the fourth quarter.
"We are extremely pleased with the performance achieved to date by Barrick, the operator of our joint venture (JV) at South Arturo," stated Premier CEO Ewan Downie.
He added that South Arturo was one of the highest-grade openpit operations brought into production during 2016 and, based on the strong initial performance achieved, the company remained on track to meet or exceed its production guidance for the year.
Also at South Arturo, the JV is advancing two additional mining opportunities – the El Nino underground project and the Dee pit expansion project. A plan of operations for the construction of a ramp at El Nino to access high-grade mineralisation down-dip of the current pit has been submitted for approval with Nevada regulatory authorities.
Drilling in the first half of 2017 will focus on the further definition of the ore zones from surface to infill previous surface exploration programmes.
Meanwhile, drilling and bulk sampling are in process for the Dee pit expansion, a potential run-of-mine heap leach operation located to the west of the current Phase 2 pit. Updated metallurgical recoveries and optimised capital and operating assumptions will be used for a revised economic assessment for this potential second pit operation prior to making a construction decision.
In Mexico, Premier’s Mercedes mine is also expected to produce 90 000 oz to 100 000 oz of silver during the fourth quarter.