The newly opened Kemess gold-copper mine in north-central British Columbia is well on its way to meeting production targets, reports owner Royal Oak Mines (RYO-T).
As a result of meeting assay specifications, the company has received prepayment of $5 million from concentrate purchasers.
The mine hosts a minable resource of 204 million tonnes grading 0.22% copper and 0.62 gram gold per tonne, equivalent to 990 million lbs. copper and 4.1 million contained ounces gold. The estimated average cash cost is pegged at US$128 per oz. (net of copper credits valued at 80 cents per lb.).
Kemess is expected to operate for 16 years with an average life-of-mine production rate of 250,000 oz. gold per year. In 1998, output is projected to total 363,000 oz. at an estimated cash cost of US$208 per oz. gold (net of copper credits). A value of US$300 per oz. gold was used in this calculation.
The company reports it has frequently exceeded the designed throughput capacity of 51,400 tonnes.
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