Technical Report for the Maricunga Gold Mine - Kinross Gold

Kinross Gold CorporationMaricunga Mine Technical Report5.0 ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES,INFRASTRUCTURE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY5.1 AccessibilityAccess to the property is via 156 km of a two-lane dirt road connecting with the pavedhighway C-35 approximately 10 km south of Copiapó. The first 96 km of the dirt roadconstitute a section of a national highway crossing into Argentina. The road then branchesout to the northeast to the mine site. The final 60 km is a private CMM road and it isgenerally in good to very good condition.5.2 Climate and PhysiographyThe property is located 120 km due east of the city of Copiapó at elevations between 4,200m and 4,500 m above mean sea level. The Maricunga Mine is located in steep, mountainousterrain with slopes up to 35%. The site is largely devoid of vegetation with the exception ofthe spring-fed marshes found along the valley floors. The climate is arid with an averageannual precipitation of 87 mm, most of which is realized as snowfall during the winter months(March through August). Generally, very little precipitation occurs during the summermonths (September through February). Local wildlife is sparse.5.3 Local Resources and InfrastructureThe Maricunga Mine site includes leaching and ADR facilities, power generation,maintenance shops, office facilities and camp. The existing infrastructure also includes anestablished fresh water supply system, process water supply system, truck shop,warehousing and lay down areas, an in pit crushing and conveying system and a secondary/tertiary crushing and screening plant. Significant upgrades designed to increase productionthroughput were completed in 2005. They included the in-pit crushing and conveying systemas well as the secondary/tertiary crushing and screening infrastructure. All facilities are ingood operating conditions. Surface and water rights are previously discussed in Section 4.0.27