PERTH (miningweekly.com) - ASX-listed International Goldfields on Friday reported that its merger partner Santa Fe was planning to increase gold production at its Summit mine, in New Mexico.
Santa Fe has begun operating two ten-hour shifts, seven days a week, up from the previous five-day schedule.
The increase in mining operations at Summit was expected to see the devoted development crew advance the drive to the high-grade Main Block ore zone in a much faster timeframe, International Goldfields said.
The Main Block had significantly higher grades in resource modelling over the current active stopes, which would mean that overall gold and silver production would further increase.
In October last year, International Goldfields and Santa Fe agreed to a A$70-million merger, to create a combined entity with a cash reserve of at least A$10-million and a gold and silver production portfolio of some 28 000 oz/y of gold equivalent.
The merged group’s assets would include the Summit gold/silver mine, the Ortiz gold project and the Mogollon gold/silver project, all in New Mexico, as well as the Latin gold project, in Brazil.
International Goldfields also reported this week that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture (JV) between its 93%-held Latin Gold and Brazil-based private equity group Biogold Investment Fund.
Under the agreement, Latin Gold would transfer assets from its wholly owned subsidiary Amazongold Pesquisas Minerais to Biogold’s subsidiary CIA Minerado Ouro Paz, in exchange for 35% ownership in Ouro Paz.
The JV would hold an over-2 700 km2 land position in the Juruena belt, and would include Latin Gold’s Ana prospect, as well as the neighbouring Uniao project.