Name: Palito Mining Complex.

Location: The mining complex is located in the Tapajos region of the state of Pará, in Brazil.

Controlling Company: Serabi Gold owns the mine through its subsidiaries – Serabi Mineraçao and Gold Aura do Brasil Mineraçao – which hold all necessary mining and environmental licences for the mining complex.

Brief Description: The Palito Mining Complex comprises the Palito and São Chico orebodies, providing mined ore for a common plant.

Extensions of the orebodies and additional satellite deposits are expected to provide future production growth and extended mine life.

Brief History: Serabi started the development on the Palito orebody in 2002 and the gold process plant was started up at the end of 2013. The company declared commercial production of the Palito orebody in July 2014.  

The company declared commercial gold production at São Chico in January 2016.

Combined gold production from the Palito Mining Complex is about 400 000 oz/y.

Products: Copper/gold concentrate.

Geology/Mineralisation: A series of north-west to south-east, steeply dipping, quartz/gold/copper veins form the basis of the Palito Main Zone deposit. The gold mineralisation of the Main Zone is hosted within the upper levels of a large adamellite granite intrusive, associated with felsic volcanics (rhyolites and dactites) and felsic breccias.

Mineralisation is contained within vertical to subvertical, mesothermal quartz-chalcopyrite-pyrite veins filling brittle extensional fault systems. Vein widths typically average over one metre in width, with grades typically between 15 g/t and 30 g/t. Gold grades in excess of this are associated with semimassive, chalcopyrite-pyrite ‘blowouts’ within the quartz veins.

São Chico is underlain by Early to Middle Proterozoic granite and granodiorite of the Pararauri Suite, which is also the host to mineralisation at the Palito and Tocantinzinho deposits. Host rocks at São Chico comprise granodiorite and granite, typically medium-grained, leucocratic, feldspar phyric and belonging to a larger, poorly exposed intrusive complex.

Mineralisation is hosted in west-north-west-trending, steeply south-dipping fault zones with a shear component. These mineralised faults have been offset by north to north-north-east-trending normal faults with a dextral lateral displacement.

Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves at Palito as at June 30, 2017, were estimated at 613 000 t grading 7.99 g/t gold and 0.37% copper.

Total proven and probable reserves at São Chico as at June 30, 2017, were estimated at 123 000 t grading 13.77 g/t gold.

Resources: Total measured and indicated resources at Palito as at June 30, 2017, were estimated at 717 000 t grading 11.74 g/t gold and 0.59% copper. Inferred resources were estimated at 784 000 t grading 7.02 g/t gold and 0.2% copper.

Total measured and indicated resources São Chico as at June 30, 2017, were estimated 82000 t grading 13.7 g/t gold. Inferred resources were estimated at 123 000 t grading 13.77 g/t gold.

Mining Method: Mining at Palito is undertaken by on-lode development followed by selective open stoping between 30 m to 40 m vertically spaced levels.

Mining is more mechanised at São Chico than at Palito, with open stope retreat mining methods generally being deployed with levels spaced at about 15 m.

Gold production is a combination of copper/gold flotation concentrate, followed by cyanidaton of flotation concentrate, followed by cyanidation of flotation tailings (Palito), and straight cyanidation (São Chico).

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Serabi operates a 500 t/d plant to process ore from the Palito and São Chico mines. Palito ore is processed through a flowsheet that includes crushing, grinding, copper flotation and carbon-in-pulp cyanidation of gold and silver values from the copper flotation tailing. The São Chico ore is processed in a separate grinding circuit that includes gravity concentration and intensive cyanide leaching of the gravity concentrate.

Prospects: Serabi continues to evaluate the its options for expanding its gold production in the Palito Mining Complex.

Contact Details:
Serabi Gold
Tel +44 20 7246 6830
Fax +44 20 7246 6831
Email contact@serabigold.com
Website http://www.serabigold.com