Electra plans to prolong Aurora’s output

While mining has temporarily ceased at the Aurora gold mine in southwestern Nevada, Electra Mining Consolidated (VSE) expects that production from existing ore on the heap-leach pads will continue into 1997.

Nearly 100,000 oz. are on the pads, and the company has expanded its recovery plant by raising the leach solution flow capacity to 1,000 from 300 gallons per minute.

During the first quarter, production totaled 3,845 oz. at a cash cost of US$82 per oz. The resulting cash flow is being used to define the open-pit and underground reserve base.

The underground resource is estimated at 1.5 million tons grading 0.1 oz. gold per ton, including 100,000 tons averaging 0.32 oz. which underlie the eastern end of the existing open pit. The higher-grade component will be subjected to a $200,000 drilling campaign, with another $200,000 earmarked for a decline. The company is negotiating with a neighboring company to develop the underground resource jointly.

The western extension of the Humboldt open-pit orebody (beyond the present pit wall) was drill-tested earlier this year, returning 25 ft. of 0.075 oz. at a depth of 150 to 175 ft. The company believes the area has the potential to contain up to 300,000 tons of potentially open-pit, heap-leachable material.

Further drilling will test the western extension of the pit area.

Electra gained ownership of the mine in December, 1994, by acquiring all the outstanding shares of co-venturer Minerex Resources.

The purchase price of US$3.9 million was financed through a loan by N.M. Rothschild & Sons of London. By April, the outstanding principal had been reduced to US$1.9 million.

The consolidation of its interest in Aurora, as well as the additional staking of 3,200 acres to the northeast and southwest of the mine site, is an indication of the high regard in which Electra holds this area. The company notes that the Bodie-Aurora-Borealis trend has produced or developed 6 million oz. gold.

Since startup in 1987, Aurora has cranked out more than 200,000 oz. Last year, operators mined 344,000 tons averaging 0.12 oz. gold per ton, from which were produced 29,971 oz. at a cash cost of US$265 per oz.

In other activities, the company is undertaking a 60-day due diligence review of the Rambler Mines tailings project near Baie Verte, Nfld. Electra can earn a 60% interest in the project from the Newfoundland firm Raymo Processing. A proposed operation would see a 500-ton-per-day indoor vat leach plant initially process 1.1 million tons of tailings grading 0.06 oz. and possibly a further 2.7 million tons of tailings. Plant construction is estimated at $1.5 million.

In 1994, Electra earned $1.5 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $300,000 in the previous year. It has 3.2 million shares outstanding (3.7 million fully diluted) and working capital of $657,000.