Feasibility done on Sphinx project (July 15, 1991)

A feasibility study carried out on the Duvay heap leach gold project north of Amos, Que., concludes that total costs would be $10.43 per ton, Societe Miniere Sphinx (VSE) reported.

Direct recovery costs for work such as crushing, stacking, leaching, gold-ore stripping and gold refining are $6.69 per ton, President Michel David said. Direct mining costs such as blasting, loading and transport for crushing account for the balance.

David said the study, prepared by Casmyn Engineering, proposes a 504,000-ton-per-year operation with a stripping ratio of 1-to-1.

Current reserves stand at 6.7 million tons grading 0.06 oz. gold per ton. Recovery is estimated to be 70%. Mining costs, David said, are about $200 per oz.

Sphinx operated the project in 1990 during the summer months and poured its first bar in mid-August from the leaching of 40,000 tons of material.