Name: Lapa mine.
Location: The Lapa mine is located in the Abitibi region of north-west Quebec, Canada.
Controlling Company: Agnico Eagle Mines.
Brief History: Agnico Eagle acquired the Lapa property for $8.925-million in 2003. From the end of 2002 to 2004, an intensive diamond drilling campaign was undertaken. The assembly of the head frame and hoist building also started in 2004, with shaft sinking starting in March the following year. Production started at the mine in 2009.
Brief Description: Lapa hosts an underground mining operation accessed by a 1 369-m-deep shaft.
Geology/Mineralisation: The Lapa property straddles the Cadillac-Larder Lake fault zone, a regional structure that hosts numerous gold prospects and past producers, including the Macassa and Kerr Addison gold mines.
The fault zone comprises the Archean-age Piché volcanic group rocks, which are locally folded, with many of the gold-mineralised zones located in the hinges of the fold structures.
Gold mineralisation at Lapa is located in zones of deformation within the Piché Group volcanic rocks. Gold is known to occur as quartz veins, tabular zones or iotite-altered zones. The contact zone is the major economic lens of mineralisation that has been traced for up to 600 m horizontally and more than 1 000 m vertically. The zone is currently open at depth in all directions.
Products: Gold.
Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2014, were estimated at 907 000 t grading 5.84 g/t of gold.
Resources: Total indicated underground resources as at December 31, 2014, were estimated at 1.07-million tonnes grading 4.29 g/t of gold. Inferred resources, including openpit (Zulapa) and underground, were estimated at 1.11-million tonnes grading 6.3 g/t of gold.
Mining Method: Two mining methods are used – longitudinal retreat, with cemented backfill, and locally transverse open stoping with cemented backfill.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Excavated ore is trucked to a dedicated Lapa plant at the LaRonde processing facility with grinding, gravity and leaching circuits. Concentrates from Lapa’s gravity and leach circuits are sent to the LaRonde refinery to produce doré bars.
Prospects: 2015 is the last full year of production based on the current life-of-mine plan for the Lapa mine. Production is expected to decline from the current level in 2016. Additional exploration drilling in the Zulapa Z7 zone at depth and on the adjoining Pandora property (50% Agnico Eagle) could potentially extend the mine life.
Contact: Corporate communications.
Contact Details:
Agnico Eagle,
tel +1 416 847 8669,
fax +1 416 367 4681, and
email media@agnicoeagle.com.