Vancouver —
Discovered in late April of this year, Cortez Hills now holds a measured resource of 10 million tonnes grading 4.05 grams gold per tonne, based on a cutoff grade of 0.14 gram gold per tonne. The indicated resource stands at 28.5 million tonnes grading 3.5 grams gold. The latest calculation boosts the contained gold to 4.5 million from 2.1 million oz.
Not included in the contained gold calculation are 17.3 million tonnes grading 1.85 grams gold in the inferred category.
“Cortez Hills is shaping up to be the most significant Nevada discovery in recent years,” says Placer Dome CEO Jay Taylor. “It holds the potential to sustain and extend production at Cortez well into the next decade.”
Six rigs continue to turn on the deposit, which lies 12 km southeast of the Pipeline-South Pipeline deposit and 0.8 km north of the Pediment deposit. The program is attempting to expand and delineate the new discovery, which remains open along strike and to the west.
At the main Cortez operation, Placer has lowered cash and total cost projections for 2003; they are now projected at US$130 and US$170 per oz, respectively.
Last year, Cortez produced 1,081,677 oz. gold (66% of which came from the mill, 27% from the heap leach, and 7% from carbonaceous ore sales). Placer’s share of production was 649,006 oz. at cash and total costs of US$129 and US$168 per oz., respectively.
The Cortez property lies along the Cortez-Battle Mountain trend in north-central Nevada. Mineralization takes the form of micron-sized free gold particles disseminated throughout the host rock and commonly associated with secondary silica, iron oxides or pyrite. The property is home to the Pipeline and South Pipeline extension and the Gap, Gold Acres, Cortez, Horse Canyon and Pediment gold deposits.
The Pipeline deposits consist of two mineralized zones: one extends from 10 metres below surface to a depth of 180 metres; the other is deeper and extends from 300 metres below surface. Both zones dip at a low angle to the east and range in thickness from 15 to 110 metres.
The Pediment deposit has one main mineralized zone, which lies 45 metres below the surface on the southern end and 170 metres below the surface on the northern portion of the deposit. The average thickness of the low-angle tabular zone is 75 metres.
Although close to the Pediment, the Cortez Hills mineralization marks a distinct and separate zone. Placer believes development of the new find can be done concurrently with either the Pediment or Pipeline deposits.
Placer is the operator of the Cortez joint venture. The remaining 40% interest is held by
Be the first to comment on "Placer doubles Cortez resource"