Quick Facts
- Ownership : 40%
- Type of mine: Open pit
- 2011 attributable gold production* : 28,692 oz
- 2012 expected attributable gold production* : up to 24,000 oz
- Attributable M&I gold resource*: 527,100 oz
- Resource grade : 2.52 g/t Au
- Expected mine life : 8+ years
*Attributable to La Mancha
Overview
The Hassaï mine in Sudan has been in operation since 1992, with 18 open pits developed over the years to extract high grade oxide ore. The ore mined to date comes from an enriched upper zone of a much larger mineralized system. The deeper volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits that are the primary source of the gold can be seen at the bottom of six of the 18 pits. La Mancha plans to develop these deposits in two stages: first building a carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant to process the remaining open pit resource and accumulated tailings on the property, and then mining the VMS ore. A positive definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Phase 1 of the VMS project, the CIL plant, was released in May 2011. To read more about the VMS project,
click here.
Long-Term Potential
The future of the Hassaï mine lies primarily in the volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits that lie beneath the mine's open pits. A definitive feasibility study for Phase 1 of the VMS project was released in May 2011. Given the solid financial performance of Phase 1 of the project on a stand-alone basis, we are moving forward toward starting construction of the CIL plant in the fall of 2011.
The DFS allowed for a 233% increase in reserves at the Hassaï mine compared to reserves as at December 31, 2010. Reserves and resources as at March 31, 2011, are shown in the table below. A further 17,600 metres of exploration drilling are planned for 2011 to outline more resources at the Hassaï mining complex.
Attributable Resources and reserves
Hassaï Property Gold Resource (excluding the VMS deposits)
Hassaï (40%)
| Tonnes | Au (g/t) | Au (oz) |
|---|
| Proven Reserves |
982,400 |
2.15
|
67,890
|
| Probable Reserves |
4,481,600 |
2.30 |
330,840
|
| Sub-total |
5,464,000 |
2.27
|
398,730
|
| Measured Resource |
982,400 |
2.15 |
67,900 |
| Indicated Resource |
5,513,200 |
2.59
|
459,200 |
Total Measured and Indicated
|
6,503,600 |
2.52 |
527,100 |
| Inferred Resource |
2,191,200 |
2.79
|
194 600 |
The resource shown include the reserves.
Reported mineral reserves have been calculated in accordance with definitions and guidelines adopted by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. Unlike proven and probable mineral reserves, mineral resources (of all categories) do not have demonstrated economic viability.
In mining operations, measured and indicated resources are considered uneconomic at the price used for reserve calculations.
All reserve and resource figures are as of 31/12/2011.
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