NEVADA — Production milestone of 1 million oz. forecast for Bald Mountain gold mine

Open-pit operation looks forward to eight more productive years

The Bald Mountain heap-leach gold mine of Placer Dome (PDG-T) has turned out 850,000 oz. since it entered production in 1983 and, with eight years of life left in the pits, is on track to achieve a production milestone of more than 1 million oz.

Situated northwest of Ely, the operation began as a 2,300-litre-per-Minute heap-leach project but was upgraded in 1985 to 4,600 litres per minute. As a result, processed output at the plant grew to 600,000 tonnes per year. By 1996, the operation was crushing 3.1 million tonnes of open-pit material per year.

Mining began at the Alligator Ridge deposit in mid-1993, with its first full year of production following in 1994. The project consists of several small, near-surface open pits 50 km south of Bald Mountain.

Although the Alligator Ridge deposit is nearing the end of its life, Placer Dome intends to continue exploring around the operation, as well as on its 39,000-ha land package at Bald Mountain, in an attempt to identify additional deposits.

The Bald Mountain operation, which includes production from Alligator Ridge, turned out 107,708 oz. gold in 1996 at a cash cost of US$298 per oz. Costs during the previous year were US$250 per oz.

Ore from Bald Mountain is crushed in two stages before being loaded onto leach pads. Heap-leach solutions are then processed in a

9,100-litre-per-Minute carbon recovery plant. Low-grade ore is processed without crushing.

Ore from Alligator Ridge is crushed in three stages and placed on pads, with solution processed through the carbon recovery plant at a rate of 4,200 litres per minute.

At the end of 1996, proven and probable reserves at Bald Mountain (including Alligator Ridge) stood at 19.1 million tonnes grading 1.7 grams gold per tonne, equivalent to more than 1 million contained ounces. The project (excluding Alligator Ridge) also contains resources, in all categories, of 27.2 tonnes grading 1.1 grams.

Placer Dome’s largest Nevada operation is the Cortez joint venture, which recently placed its Pipeline deposit into production (see story, page B1).