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16
EXPLORATION SPECIAL
Leading the search for minerals
Lydian International – Amulsar
Early in 2011, Lydian received an independent resource estimate delineating
2.5Moz of gold within indicated and inferred resources at its greenfields
Amulsar epithermal gold project in Armenia.
A scoping study forecast average gold production during the first three
years of 123,000oz/y, rising to 256,000oz/y from year four until year seven,
averaging 221,000oz/y from years four to nine. The discovery won Mining
Journal’s Outstanding Achievement award for exploration last year (presented
at the Mines & Money event in London).
Detour Gold – Detour Lake
Detour Gold Corp recently increased reserves at its Detour Lake gold
project in Ontario, defining 15.6Moz of gold, thereby increasing the mine
forecast life to 22 years, at a rate of 55,000-61,000t/d. The update included
a 13% increase in global measured and indicated mineral resources from
20.5 to 23.3Moz.
The project’s feasibility study in 2010 designed average annual gold
production of 649,000oz, peaking at more than 800,000oz. The company’s
chief executive, Gerald Panneton, won this year’s Bill Dennis award from the
PDAC.
Mining Journal special publication – PDAC
New Gold Inc – Blackwater
New Gold Inc
recently
consolidated
ownership of
the Blackwater
gold-silver
project in British
Columbia by
acquiring its
joint-venture
partner in a
portion of the
property,
thereby gaining
100% interest in
the deposit
estimated at
end-2011 to
contain 5.4Moz
of gold in
indicated
resources, and a
further 1.2Moz
in inferred.
Highlands Pacifi c – Frieda River
Highlands Pacific Ltd recently received an independent estimate for two
deposits at the Frieda River porphyry district in Papua New Guinea, raising
contained metals within the district to 12.9Mt copper and 20Moz gold.
Highlands commissioned consultant Hellman & Schofield to prepare the
estimate for the Ekwai and Koki deposits, located immediately adjacent to
the much larger Horse-Ivaal-Trukai (HIT) porphyry system, which is the
subject of an ongoing feasibility study for the Frieda River joint venture,
operated by Highlands’ partner Xstrata plc.
The project’s pre-feasibility study, delivered in October 2010, outlined an
open-pit mining operation based on the HIT system. Average metals output
was forecast at 190,000t/y copper and 280,000oz/y of gold over 20 years.
February 2012