Tahoe lifts global gold reserves by 400 000 oz

16th February 2018 By: Henry Lazenby - Creamer Media Deputy Editor: North America

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian precious metals miner Tahoe Resources has increased its global gold reserve base by about 12% or 399 000 oz in 2017, to about 3.7-million ounces of yellow metal, the company announced on Thursday.

Vancouver-based Tahoe advised that, in 2017, it added 888 000 oz of new gold mineral reserves, more than replacing the 489 000 oz it depleted during the record-setting production year. With the addition of the La Arena II resources, in Peru, it also increased its base of compliant gold resources by 33% year-on-year to 3.4-million ounces.

As of January 1, Tahoe's proven and probable mineral reserves now total about 288-million ounces of silver, 196 000 t of lead and 320 000 t of zinc.

"During 2018 and 2019, we will continue to focus on thoughtfully advancing our exploration and development properties with the aim of continuing to grow our gold resources and converting our resources into reserves," president and CEO Ron Clayton said in a news release.

Tahoe also announced that its combined measured and indicated copper resources increased to 5.8-billion pounds, an increase of 3.8-billion pounds, or 187%, when compared with the previous year, mainly as a result of La Arena II.

The increases in gold reserves at the company's operating properties during 2017 were mainly attributable to increases in mineral reserves at the Shahuindo mine, also in Peru, owing to exploration success, as well as owing to the initial mineral reserve estimate for the 144 Gap deposit at the Timmins West mine, and by converting mineral resources to mineral reserves at the Bell Creek mine, both in Ontario.