Technical Report for the Maricunga Gold Mine - Kinross Gold

Kinross Gold CorporationMaricunga Mine Technical ReportTable 16-10: Pancho Column Test Summary 2007 (Part 2)ColumnNaCNTest Composite gAu/mt ore gCu/mt ore Consumed,No. Extracted Tail Screen Avg. Head Extracted Head Assay kg/mt oreP1 1930 0.78 0.21 0.99 60 300 2.03P2 2240 0.32 0.13 0.47 173 600 2.49P3 1690 0.52 0.15 0.7 173 800 2.82P4 2140 0.39 0.3 0.69 539 1400 3.71P5 P95-1840 0.33 0.2 0.5 104 1200 2.12P6 Shallow Comp P95-1840 0.59 0.18 0.79 600 770 3.46P7 Pancho 6a+6b Comp 0.57 0.07 0.62 27 100 1.18P8 RHEVC 0.38 0.24 0.68 162 800 2.19P9 RHEVC 0.43 0.21 0.68 178 800 2.55P10 RHEVC 0.44 0.2 0.68 144 800 2.37P11 Oxide 0.55 0.12 0.67 22 200 2.17P12 Oxide 0.56 0.1 0.67 38 200 2.23P13 Oxide 0.53 0.1 0.67 16 200 2.16P14 Copper Column Test 0.38 0.31 0.75 133 1300 1.5216.2.5 SART Process Feasibility StudyUneconomic concentrations of copper are present in the heap leach ore at the Maricungamine. Some of the copper minerals are soluble in cyanide solutions and these mineralsconsume cyanide reagent and contaminate the leach solution with copper metal. Unlessremoved, this copper will decrease the purity of the dore bars and incur penalty refiningcosts. The copper grade in the leach solution has risen significantly from initial levels ofbelow 50 ppm in 2005 to over 300 ppm in 2007. This copper concentration is expected toincrease further as ores from the Pancho deposit are processed. The rising copper level inthe Maricunga heap leach solution will need to be addressed to avoid increased lock-up ofcyanide by the copper resulting in increased operating costs.Over the last two years, Kinross has undertaken significant metallurgical testwork andengineering studies to establish a robust process for removing copper from the circuit andrecycling the cyanide. In 2005, SGS Lakefield completed preliminary tests confirming thatSART technology had the best potential. The SART process was developed in 1997 bySGS Lakefield Research and Teck Corporation and is currently in full-scale commercialapplication at Newcrest’s Telfer Mine in Australia.73