Operations ramp up at Eagle gold mine following construction completion

The Eagle gold project construction was completed in early July and handed over to the Victoria operations team, one month ahead of schedule and on the revised budget. Commissioning took place through July and August and is now substantively complete. The Victoria operations management team is fully staffed and in control of site. Operations ramp up is in progress and tracking on schedule. The first gold pour is scheduled for 17 September 2019 and will be live streamed on the company’s website.

“I am extremely proud to announce that construction of Eagle came in ahead of schedule and on budget. It’s a tremendous accomplishment and speaks to the quality of the entire team,” stated John McConnell, President & CEO. “With construction and commissioning of Eagle now complete, we are keenly focused on ramping up operations and look forward to the first gold pour this month.”

Construction

Construction was completed in July, fully one month ahead of schedule. Construction capital was completed on the revised budget of CAN$487 million.

Commissioning

Commissioning activities are complete and all systems and subsystems have been handed over from the EPCM team to the Victoria operations team. The commissioning team and construction/commissioning contractors have demobilised from site.

Safety

The company is proud of, and is acutely focused on its’ ongoing commitment to safety and environmental stewardship. Including construction and recent mine operations, over 1.7 million hours have been worked since the last lost time incident (LTI). Since the recent start of mine operations, more than 160 000 hours have been worked without an LTI.

Mine operations

Over 1 million t of ore have been mined from the Eagle pit, which is 60% ahead of schedule for 2019. A significant portion of material on the margins of the Eagle deposit that were previously characterised as waste has been determined to be ore through assaying the production drill cuttings as part of the grade control program. Within the deposit, the tonnes and grade reporting are reconciling well with actual mining results and the published resource estimate.

With the acceleration of the construction schedule, over 3 million t of ore will be delivered to the heap leach pad by 2019 year-end.

Processing operations

Nearly 700 000 t of Eagle ore have been stacked on the heap leach pad. The remaining 300 000 t of ore mined to date has been stockpiled and is actively being utilised to accelerate additional ore to the heap leach pad in 2019. Ore leaching activities are underway and gold in solution is currently being loaded onto carbon in the fully operational gold recovery plant.

Operations team

All operations management team members and key supervisors are in place. The remaining operations team are being onboarded with a current head count of approximately 230 operations personnel, which tracks well to the ramp up plan. Approximately 50% of the operations staff are Yukon residents including several citizens from the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun (FNNND), the Traditional Territory in which Victoria operates.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/10092019/operations-ramp-up-at-eagle-gold-mine-following-construction-completion/