Technical Report for the Maricunga Gold Mine - Kinross Gold

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Kinross Gold CorporationMaricunga Mine Technical ReportChile features a strong mining culture with well-established support centers in Santiago,Antofagasta and Copiapó, The town of Copiapó is the primary staging and support area forthe mine with various well-established contractors.28
Kinross Gold CorporationMaricunga Mine Technical Report6.0 HISTORYDavid Thomson and Mario Hernandez discovered gold mineralization at Maricunga in 1984.Shortly after their discovery, Hernandez, Thomson, and three other partners acquired theexisting claims at Maricunga for Compañia Minera Maricunga (CMR). CMR completedgeologic mapping and geochemical sampling, identifying anomalous gold values in threeareas: 1) Cerro Verde, 2) Cerro Pancho, and 3) Guanaco. A detailed discussion ofexploration activities by previous owners is discussed in Section 10.In 1985, Anglo American Chile Limitada (Anglo) optioned the property from CMR. Angloexplored the property for three years, returning the claims to CMR in 1988.In 1989, CMR signed a letter of intent to explore the Maricunga property with Bema GoldCorporation (Bema). Bema commenced exploration fieldwork in October 1989 and from1989 to 1991, completed 51,765 meters of drilling at Verde with an additional 5,088 metersat Pancho. Bema also commissioned Mineral Resources Development Inc (MRDI) tocomplete a feasibility study on the project, which indicated positive project economics. InJanuary 1993, Bema exercised its option rights, obtaining a 50% interest in the Maricungaproperties. At the same time, CMR sold its remaining 50% interest to Amax Gold Inc.(Amax). Amax (operator) and Bema formed Compañia Minera Maricunga (CMM), a 50/50joint venture to develop and operate the Maricunga project. From 1993 through 1997, CMMcontinued developing the project, beginning commercial production in 1996.The mine first operated from 1996 to 2001, producing more than 920,000 ounces of goldfrom 46.0 million tonnes of ore. In 1998, Kinross Gold Corporation (Kinross) acquiredAmax’s 50% interest through a merger agreement.Mining operations at Maricunga were suspended during the second quarter of 2001, a resultof depressed gold prices. Improving gold prices during 2002 prompted CMM to evaluateoptions for re-opening the mine. Scoping studies quantifying the conditions necessary to reopenthe mine were completed. The studies indicated that the project economics required anincrease in the existing reserve base. As a result, an exploration program was developed toevaluate the reserve potential at depth at the Verde deposits and the inferred resource at thenearby Pancho deposit, located approximately 2.0 km northwest of the Verde pit.29
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Technical Report for the Maricunga Gold Mine - Kinross Gold

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