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Argonaut Gold Inc. is pleased to announce the Company’s flagship mine, the Magino Mine, located in Ontario Canada, is nearing gold production rates shown in its current National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report following implementation of several key technical and operational improvements.
As previously announced by Argonaut, the Magino Mine began producing gold in June of this year and achieved commercial production effective November 1, 2023. During the early commissioning period, the Magino Mine faced challenges as it transitioned into a steady feed of higher grade ore, in-line with the Magino Technical Report. Following the implementation of improved mining practices in late October, the operations have delivered a consistent increase in feed grade to the mill, which have averaged at or above the life of mine reserve grade. The improvements at the Magino Mine include greater ore selectivity and more effective dilution control and are intended to align the operational results with the Magino Technical Report.
During November, the Company planned and executed a test campaign at the mine site using OREPro3D on a test block of high-grade ore. The software program created a test block including ore tonnes and grade, before and after blasting, that was then flitch mined and batch tested through the mill. The average estimated grade of the test block was 1.53 grams per tonne, including external dilution, while 1.50 grams per tonne was received at the mill, demonstrating that strong grade control practices are working well.
“Implementing the right technology is expected to be instrumental to our success. We believe that OREPro3D will play a pivotal role in providing precise data for blast movement,” said Marc Leduc, Chief Operating Officer of Argonaut Gold. “Based on the excellent results of this test campaign, the Mine is currently installing the software and carrying out training, which should be completed by the end of the year. We are also in the process of implementing a high precision GPS fleet management system in our 4 principle loading tools, anticipated to be completed by year end, which is also expected to further enhance grade control, mining efficiency and minimize dilution of ore delivered to the mill.”
In addition to investments in the GPS fleet management system to improve mining selectivity by enabling more precise identification of ore and waste blocks to operators, given the Magino ore body is not visually controlled, the Company is also working to improve mining productivity by optimizing the payload capacity of the current truck fleet. The Company expects these changes will result in increased haulage capacity.
While these improved mining and reconciliation results from this recent test block are based on a limited operational phase and scope, the Company expects implementation of these technical and operational enhancements will afford the Company a significantly greater ability to mine more accurately and selectively, thereby increasing the predictability of grades from the mine to the mill on a go forward basis.
A portion of the Company’s recent equity offering is dedicated to sustaining an ongoing infill drill program which the Company intends to use to support resource and reserve updates, as appropriate. The results from phase one of this program are expected to be released in March of 2024, with a further report anticipated in the third quarter of 2024.
The Company has engaged Lycopodium Limited, an international engineering firm, to complete a plant optimization and expansion study towards the goal of increasing throughput. The capital cost to complete the optimization work is not expected to be material and should, if supported by the study, largely be completed by the end of 2024. The overall objective of the optimization and expansion study is to increase plant throughput to between 17,500 to 20,000 tonnes per day. The Company hopes this work will support an expansion study forming part of an updated technical report for the Magino Mine by the end of third quarter of 2024.
“The goal is to build Magino into a 200,000 to 250,000 ounce per year gold mine. Through the year, we have strengthened our team, processes, and technology, all of which are critical to building Magino into a large, low-cost, long-life gold mine,” stated Richard Young, President and Chief Executive Officer of Argonaut Gold.
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