Name: Round Mountain mine.
Location: The Round Mountain mine is located about 96 km north of Tonopah, in Nye County, in the US state of Nevada.
Controlling Company: The Smoky Valley Common Operation (SVCO), a 50:50 joint venture between Kinross Gold Corporation and Barrick Gold Corporation, owns and operates Round Mountain Gold Corporation, operator of the Round Mountain mine.
Brief History: The first recorded gold production from the Round Mountain district was in 1906. An estimated 350 000 oz of gold was produced from 1906 to 1969. The SVCO was formed in 1975 to operate the mine. Copper Range held a 50% interest and Felmont Oil and Case Pomeroy each held a 25% interest in the original SVCO.
Commercial production at the mine started in 1977.
Homestake Mining Company acquired a 25% interest in the mine in 1984. Echo Bay Mines acquired a 50% interest in 1985. Homestake increased its interest in the Round Mountain mine to 50% in July 2000. The following year, Barrick completed a merger with Homestake, thereby acquiring Homestake’s 50% interest in the mine. Kinross acquired a 50% interest in 2003 as a result of the Kinross, TVX Gold/Echo Bay merger.
Brief Description: The SVCO controls the mineral and surface rights of the Round Mountain mine through the ownership of 109 patented lode claims, 2 689 unpatented lode claims and 355 unpatented placer claims.
Geology/Mineralisation: The geology of the Round Mountain mine consists of a thick sequence of intracaldera Oligocene ash flow tuffs and volcaniclastic rocks resting on pretertiary basement rocks. The caldera margin is buried, but the pit area is well defined by a progressively steeper-dipping arcuate contact between the volcanic rocks and older basement rocks. The caldera margin and caldera-related structures provided the structural ground preparation for the hydrothermal system that introduced gold mineralisation. The primary host rocks for gold mineralisation are the volcanic rocks. A minor amount of ore occurs in the Paleozoic rocks along the caldera margin.
Gold mineralisation within the Round Mountain deposit occurs as electrum in association with quartz, adularia, pyrite and iron oxides. Shear zone fractures, veins and disseminations within the more permeable units host the mineralisation. Primary sulphide mineralisation consists of electrum associated with or internal to pyrite grains. In oxidised zones, gold occurs as electrum associated with iron oxides, or as disseminations along fractures.
Reserves: Kinross’s attributable proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2013, were 41.15-million tonnes grading 0.68 g/t gold.
Barrick’s attributable proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2013, were 46-million tons grading 0.020 oz/t gold.
Resources: Kinross’s measured and indicated resources as at December 31, 2013, were 38.12-million tonnes grading 0,74 g/t gold. Inferred resources were 24.52-million tonnes grading 0.55 g/t gold.
Barrick’s mineral resources as at December 31, 2013, were 42.01-million tons grading 0.022 oz/t gold.
Products: Gold.
Mining Method: Conventional openpit.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Round Mountain recovers gold through four independent processing operations – crushed ore leaching (reusable pad), run-of-mine ore leaching (dedicated pad), milling and the gravity concentration circuit. Recovered gold is smelted on site into doré and shipped to outside refineries for processing into bullion.
Mining is conducted on 35 ft benches using electric shovels and front-end loaders paired with 150 t-, 190 t- and 240 t-capacity haul trucks.
Prospects: Barrick and Kinross are working together to optimise the mine plan.
Contact Person: Investor relations.
Contact Details:
Barrick Gold Corporation,
tel +1 416 861 9911,
email investor@barrick.com, and
website http://www.barrick.com.
Kinross Gold,
tel +1 416 365 5123,
fax +1 416 363 6622,
email info@kinross.com, and
website http://www.kinross.com.