MARMATO GOLD MINE
Location and History
The Marmato mine is located in the Marmato gold district in the Caldas Department, a mountainous region approximately 80 kilometres south of Medellin, Colombia.
The Marmato gold district has been mined since pre-Colonial times by the Quimbaya people. The gold resource was so significant that Simon Bolivar, the revolutionary leader who liberated much of South America from Spanish rule, used the gold as collateral with British banks to secure funding for a war of independence against Spain. The current mine on the Zona Baja property has been in operation since 1991.
The Marmato mine is supported by excellent infrastructure, located by the Pan American Highway and with access to the national electricity grid, which runs near the property.
Geology and Mineralization
The mine is made up of the Enchandia and Zona Baja properties, where two distinct mining areas are delineated based on the style of mineralization as it appears across elevation:
- Mineralization in the Marmato Upper Mine, located between 950 and 1,300 metres elevation, is characterized by narrow veins where an existing operation mines material using conventional cut-and-fill stope methods and processes the ore in a 1,200 tpd plant
A modernization program that will result in increased production and lower costs at the Marmato Upper Mine mine is currently in progress
- Mineralization in the Lower Mine, below 950 metres elevation, includes wider porphyry mineralization that will be mined using longhole stoping methods and processed in a newly constructed plant as part of the Caldas mine expansion project.
Construction of the Lower Mine is expected to begin in Q4 2021
“The Lower Mine represents a notable change in the style of mineralization…and has maintained the use of a high-grade core to the mineralization at depth”
--SRK (March 2020)
PFS Highlights
In 2020 a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) was completed to define an expanded Marmato mine, which includes production from a modernized Marmato Upper Mine and the newly developed Lower Mine. The Marmato Upper Mine modernization program includes the implementation of a new mine plan and plant expansion from 1,200 tpd to 1,500 tpd. The Lower Mine project includes the construction of a new 4,000 tpd CIP plant and is expected to begin in Q4 2021 following the completion the 2020-2021 infill drilling campaign, optimization studies, detailed engineering, and submission of an Environmental Management Plan (PMA) amendment.
“Excellent results can be expected when processing the Lower Mine ore in a standard CIP circuit design”
--SRK (March 2020)
2.0Moz
@ 3.2 g/t
Gold Reserves
4.1Moz
@ 3.2 g/t
M&I gold Resources1
2.2Moz
@ 2.6 g/t
Inferred gold Resources
13-year
Mine life
5,500
tpd
Processing capacity
165koz
Per year
LOM average production
US$880
Per oz
LOM average AISC
US$268M
Lower Mine development capex
Notes: 1. M&I Resources are inclusive of Reserve