Timmins Gold ramps up at San Francisco project

Timmins Gold (TMM-V) is ramping up to full production at its San Francisco heap leach gold project in Sonora, Mexico.

The first gold pour is expected to be this January and already the company has been piling crushed ore on the heap leach pads. About 70,000 tonnes of ore have been placed on the pads.

The company is about half done constructing the heap leach pads which will cover 15 hectares (0.15 sq. km).

Timmins Gold expects to produce 80,000 oz. gold per year at an average cash cost of US$412 per oz.

Management say the project has potential for expanding resources – 27.65 million tonnes under the measured and indicated category grading 0.81 gram gold per tonne for 716,000 oz. gold, plus another 63,500 oz. under the inferred category.

Since last November, the company has constructed a $12 million secondary and tertiary crushing system with a planned capacity for 550 tonnes per hour.

During testing the company operated it successfully with loads up to 750 tonnes per hour.

This increased capacity means the company increase throughput from 11,000 tonnes per day to 15,000 tonnes per day, which translates into production of 100,000 oz. gold (from 80,000 oz.).