Name of the Project
Relief Canyon gold project.

Location
The project is located in Pershing County, Nevada, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Americas Gold and Silver.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) completed on the project has proved positive and indicated the viability of contract mining and conveyor stacking to bring the project into production.

Pershing Gold has all the state and federal permits necessary to start the Phase 1 mining and heap-leach processing operations. The company is planning a two-phase permitting and development scenario for the project.

Phase 1, which has been approved, involves the repurposing of previously approved disturbance for expanded mining to a pit bottom elevation of 1 548 m and partial backfilling of the Phase 1 pit, about 6.1 m above the historical groundwater elevation to eliminate a pit lake. It also involves expanded exploration operations, full build-out of the heap-leach pad to accommodate the leaching of Phase 1 ore, and construction of a new waste-rock storage facility.

Phase 2 will include additional mine expansion and allow for mining further below the water table. 

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The PFS estimates a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $144.6-million and an internal rate of return of 89%.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $28-million to $30-million.

Planned Start/End Date
None stated.

Latest Developments
Commercial production at the Relief Canyon mine has been delayed to the fourth quarter.

Americas Gold and Silver’s newest asset has had various startup challenges, including equipment issues with the radial stacker, inconsistent practices and variable solution-application rates.

The operation has now begun stacking ore, and initial leach solution grades have been encouraging.

Following the acquisition of Pershing Gold, the company set an ambitious target of building the Relief Canyon mine in under nine months, with an estimated budget range of $28-million to $30-million. 

To assist with the continued ramp-up of Relief Canyon, Americas Gold and Silver has hired Phil Dalke as GM of the operation.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None.

Contact Details for Project Information
Americas Gold and Silver, tel +1 416 848 9503 or email info@americas-gold.com.