Vancouver — Looking to become a full-fledged producer,
Gold-Ore will make staged payments totalling US$8 million for the producing mine. A cash payment of US$500,000 is due upon signing, with the same amount paid annually for five years. The remaining US$5 million will be paid in cash or shares prior to the fourth anniversary of the deal.
The acquisition includes the Bjorkdal mine, plant, reserves and resources, and regional exploration properties.
Bjorkdal is one of Europe’s larger gold mines, producing about 850,000 oz. gold since opening in 1988. The open-pit operation has proven and probable reserves of 1.6 million tonnes grading 1.94 grams gold per tonne. Measured and indicated resources stand at 6.9 million tonnes averaging 1.6 grams gold, with additional inferred resources of 3 million tonnes grading 1.7 grams gold. The reserve and resource calculations conform to Australia’s JORC reporting requirements.
Acquired by Minmet in 2003, the mine produced 30,600 oz. gold in 2004 from 1.2 million tonnes of ore grading 0.94 gram gold. Recent drops in output can be attributed to processing of stockpiled lower grade ore from previous operators, mixed with selected ore from the pit. A revised Stage 2 pit development program was launched by Minmet to target higher-grade ore blocks, including the southeast extension zone with grades of more than 2 grams gold per tonne.
The 1.3 million-tonne-per-year capacity processing plant uses a primary crusher feeding a ball- and rod-mill circuit. Recoveries of up to 90% are reported using a gravity concentrator (centrifugal spirals and shaker tables) and flotation circuit.
The deposit occurs in the Skelleftea greenstone belt which is host to numerous deposits in northern Sweden, including the gold-rich Bolliden massive sulphide. Bjorkdal is classified as an intrusion-related gold system with mineralization contained primarily in quartz veins within a granodiorite intrusive.
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