RE:« ... Pure Gold ramps up mill, fine tunes underground opsHey GPB...
Careful what you wish for...Pure Gold is struggling...over one quarter of mining and they will not be in commercial production until the end of the second quarter...ouch! Mining Update As of the end of the first quarter, the mine continues to ramp-up to steady state production. Realized head grades for the first quarter were lower than anticipated due to ramp-up related issues including unplanned dilution in the first longhole stopes blasted by the Company and the feeding of low grade stockpile material to the mill to facilitate uninterrupted mill ramp-up during commissioning. The mining issues are being addressed and corrected by the Company, are viewed as symptomatic of ramp-up, and are not expected to persist in the future. The head grades realized in the first quarter are not representative of management’s expectations for steady state production.
The reserve grade from the 2019 Feasibility Study 2 is 9.0 g/t gold for the life-of-mine, with average annual grades ranging from 6.3 g/t gold to 13.7 g/t gold, and a projected grade for year one of operations of 7.0 g/t gold. Initial longhole stopes mined in the first quarter of 2021 near the ramp had expected grades between 5 and 6 g/t and incurred up to 50% external dilution upon mining due to overbreak in excess of what was planned. The next longhole stope mined was expected to drive higher grades for the month of March, but a significant volume of non-mineralized dyke was encountered, resulting in unanticipated internal dilution and reduced grade.
Gold Production to Date
In Q4 2020 the Company processed 3,535 tonnes of ore at a grade of 7.8 g/t gold to produce 860 ounces at a 96.6% recovery rate. From January 1 st to March 29 th 2021, the Company processed 47,182 tonnes of ore at a grade of 2.8 g/t gold to produce 4,011 ounces at a 95.0% recovery rate. As noted previously, overbreak and unmineralized dyke issues resulted in unanticipated dilution in Q1 and actions have been taken to significantly reduce these issues which are expected to result in head grades improving in the second quarter and beyond.
Commercial Production
The Company will continue to assess both ore throughput and gold production as determinants in declaring commercial production for the PureGold Mine throughout the second quarter. Inaugural production and cost guidance for the balance of 2021 will follow shortly thereafter.