Mulatos Mill Project
Mulatos High-Grade Mill: The Mulatos Plot Thickens
In late 2005, Alamos discovered some very high-to-bonanza-grade gold mineralization within the Escondida zone of the Mulatos Deposit. This zone is located approximately 500 metres north of the Mulatos Pit where the Company is currently mining – a stone’s throw away.
Read on to discover why we believe this is the next chapter in the Mulatos story – one that is no less exciting than the first.
In 2008, Alamos retained some engineering consultants to estimate the operating and capital costs of a smaller 500-tonnes-per-day milling operation to process only the high-grade Escondida ore.
At the end of 2008, the Company and its consultants designated Escondida ore that grades in excess of 3.4 grams per tonne gold (“g/t Au”) as milling ore. Using this cut-off, the high-grade portion of the Escondida zone
represents NI 43-101 compliant reserves of 289,000 tonnes of milling ore at an average drill-indicated grade of 10.54 g/t Au as of December 31, 2008.
Drilling at Escondida for 2009 resulted in the discovery of a new high-grade zone to the northeast of the Escondida Hanging Wall Zone ("EHWZ"), a stratiform zone of high-grade mineralization located directly on top of the Escondida Main Zone, and of a small southwest extension to the EHWZ. The newly discovered high-grade zone is located 100 m northeast of the faulted limit of the EHWZ and overlain by 125 to 150 m of cover.
Incorporating the new zones at Escondida in the December 31, 2010 resource estimate resulted in an increase in tonnes of approximately 48%. Pit contained mineral reserves for the Escondida high-grade zone were 430,000 tonnes grading 12.19 g/t Au for 168,494 ounces at December 31, 2010.
However, bulk samples and internal testing have indicated that the reserve grade may significantly underestimate the actual grade due to sampling issues associated with coarse native gold, which is commonly known as a “nugget effect” within the gold mining industry.
represents NI 43-101 compliant reserves of 289,000 tonnes of milling ore at an average drill-indicated grade of 10.54 g/t Au as of December 31, 2008.
Drilling at Escondida for 2009 resulted in the discovery of a new high-grade zone to the northeast of the Escondida Hanging Wall Zone ("EHWZ"), a stratiform zone of high-grade mineralization located directly on top of the Escondida Main Zone, and of a small southwest extension to the EHWZ. The newly discovered high-grade zone is located 100 m northeast of the faulted limit of the EHWZ and overlain by 125 to 150 m of cover.
Incorporating the new zones at Escondida in the December 31, 2010 resource estimate resulted in an increase in tonnes of approximately 48%. Pit contained mineral reserves for the Escondida high-grade zone were 430,000 tonnes grading 12.19 g/t Au for 168,494 ounces at December 31, 2010.
However, bulk samples and internal testing have indicated that the reserve grade may significantly underestimate the actual grade due to sampling issues associated with coarse native gold, which is commonly known as a “nugget effect” within the gold mining industry.