The proposed open-pit heap leach operation will process ore at a rate of 2,500 tonnes per day and is expected to produce an average of 35,000 ounces of gold and 600,000 ounces of silver per year for an estimated mine life of eight years.
View Photos from Santa Elena Project
Project Economics
The pre feasibility base case shows robust cash flows and rates of return in excess of 100% using very conservative base case metal prices of US$ 800 per ounce of gold for the first three years and $750 thereafter and US$ 11.85 per ounce of silver. Cash operating costs are expected to be US$ 328 per ounce of gold equivalent with cash costs for the first 2 years of production being less than US$ 250 per ounce of gold equivalent.
| Santa Elena Silver and Gold Resources | ||||||||||
| Property | Resource Category1 |
Tonnes | Ag gpt |
Au gpt |
Tons | Ag opt |
Au opt |
Contained Ag Ounces |
Contained Au Ounces2 |
|
| Santa Elena | Probable Reserves |
6,541,950 | 56.70 | 1.61 | 7,211,250 | 1.68 | 0.047 | 11,927,100 | 339,600 |
|
| Indicated | 1,800,000 | 75.00 | 1.32 | 1,980,000 |
2.19 | 0.039 | 4,334,000 |
76,300 |
||
| Inferred | 2,270,000 | 104.1 |
1.67 | 2,500,000 |
3.04 |
0.049 | 7,596,000 |
121,900 |
||
1 Conforms to NI 43-101, 43101CP and current CIM definitions for resources. All numbers are rounded. 2 Cutoff grade is 0.5 gpt Au equivalent. These reserves are diluted and mine recoverable.
The Pre-Feasibility has resulted in the conversion of most of the previously stated Indicated Resources to Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves. The following resource table shows the Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources that are excluded from the Mineral Reserves and were based on 41 drill holes. This Resource has been estimated by totaling all Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources lying outside of the planned open pit shell. The Company is currently completing an updated resource estimate to include the results of 51 additional drill holes (holes SE08-42 to SE08-92).
Financing
J. Scott Drever, President stated; "There are currently more than 100 Santa Elena and contractor employees on site aggressively constructing the facilities in anticipation of the first gold and silver pour within in the next 6 to 7 months. The finance facilities that are in place with Macquarie Bank Limited and Sandstorm Resources Ltd. plus the equity funds we raised assure the project is adequately financed through to production. We have continued to fine tune the capital and operating parameters of the project with the result that the already robust project economics continue to improve as the mine moves toward production. We have assembled a strong team of experienced professionals to manage the construction and start up process and fully expect to bring this new mine in on time and on budget."
In addition to the current development plan at Santa Elena, resource and production expansion plans are being assessed. This assessment includes exploration of additional targets, development of underground resources, potential re-treatment of the depleted heaps with conventional milling, and feasibility of processing the nearby Cruz de Mayo silver deposit at the Santa Elena facilities.
Project Status
The following pre-construction tasks have been completed to fasttrack the project to initial production in Q2, 2010.