Gordex Minerals scored a Canadian gold mining first when it announced commercial production at its Cape Spencer claims northeast of Saint John, N.B. this week.
The Cape Spencer project is Canada’s first primary heap leaching operation to reach a production stage and the announcement comes almost a year after Gordex poured the first dore bar at the property.
Gold production is estimated at 7,500 oz this year and approximately 11,000 oz in 1988.
“After five years of exploration work and a small-scale trial, we are commencing full-scale production at Cape Spencer,” said Gordex President Hal Pawson. “This is a significant milestone for Gordex shareholders.”
The low-cost gold mining method which enables producers to economically extract fine grained gold from ore grading as low as 0.03 oz, was first developed in California during the 1970s but has yet to prove itself in Canada.
As reported (N.M., June 15/87), the ore is leached either as run-of- mine material or coarsely crushed to half-inch (or less) fragments and “heaped” on pads constricted on an impermeable surface in flat- topped piles 10-20 ft high.
The piles are sprayed continuously with a dilute cyanide solution that dissolves the gold out of the rock and passes it down through the rock where the gold-rich fluid is collected on the leaching pad.
Anaconda Canada and Heath Steele used the technique to treat gossan ore in British Columbia and Bathurst, N.B., respectively, but all eyes will be on Gordex as it attempts to heap leach in New Brunswick’s damp climate.
To counteract wet conditions, Gordex is currently completing an expansion program to convert heap leaching to a vat leaching mode. By covering the ore pile with a light nylon tarpaulin (similar to the tarpaulin used to cover infields in baseball) Gordex will be able to operate both 24 hours per day and year round.
Based on the results of 92 drill holes, reserves at the property are estimated at one million tons grading 0.057 oz gold per ton. However, as reported (N.M., Feb 2/87) the company has focused its exploration effor ts on 3% of its 1,500-acre property and there is considerable potential for further discoveries. The company expects to process 165,000 tons of gold-bearing deposits this year and 225,000 tons in 1988.
Gordex shares were trading recently at $2.19 on the Montreal Stock Exchange.
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