TSX-listed Maya Gold & Silver has expanded production capacity at its Zgounder silver mine, in Morocco.
The company has all the necessary elements and infrastructure in place to process 700 t/d, which is a 40% increase on the prior production capacity of 500 t/d.
Additionally, the Zgounder mine underwent upgrades to its performance through the addition of flotation cells, improving input to refining of flotation processed core concentrates.
Maya reported that after analysing the results and performances obtained from Chinese supplier Xinhai’s flotation plant, Maya developed the capability to produce saleable quantities of enriched concentrates of up to 4 000 g/t gold, up from the current 2 000 g/t gold.
Further processing steps could continue to reach the final production of silver bullion ingots.
“This approach proves to be appealing to many smelters. Directly selling the enriched concentrate from additional mine production was the preferred option approved by the company’s board during the second half of 2019.
“To benefit from this opportunity, the flotation circuit has been adapted by reprocessing the concentrate twice and adjusting the selectivity to produce a concentrate that is both rich in silver and also purified from the penalising elements at the time of sale,” Maya said.
The company added that the increase in daily mine throughput was directed in this manner.
Maya reported that in August and November last year, two new sales contracts for the enriched concentrate were signed. Two shipments to smelters in China totalling 1 427 t of concentrate had been completed by the end of 2019.