Greenstone tunes up Cerro Mojon gold mine

The Cerro Mojon gold mine in Nicaragua is operating better than planned, reports Greenstone Resources (GRE-T).

In the first five months of the year, the open-pit, heap-leach operation cranked out 29,962 oz. at an average cash cost of US$220 per oz. In May, daily output surpassed 250 oz.; unit costs per tonne of ore stacked averaged $8.19; and daily crusher throughput jumped 50% to 5,813 tonnes, as operating hours increased by 3.5 hours to 14 hours.

Recovery rates are reportedly improving, with more than 75% of the gold expected to be recovered from recently stacked cells. As well, solution grades are rising, with the average for May ringing in at 0.655 gram per tonne of solution.

Greenstone spent US$100,000 on the mine through May, as capital expenditures have been virtually eliminated through the use of contract miners and blast-hole drillers. The company is negotiating cheaper, long-term contracts for both mining and drilling/ blasting and is planning an expansion program.