Name of the Project
Loma Larga gold project.

Location
Ecuador.

Project Owner/s
Gold mining company Dundee Precious Metals (DPM).

Project Description
The project has total proven and probable reserves of 13.9-million tonnes grading 4.91 g/t gold, 29.6 g/t silver and 0.29% copper. Measured and indicated resources, including mineral reserves, are estimated at 24.1-million tonnes grading 3.76 g/t gold, 24.8 g/t silver and 0.22% copper.

The 2021 feasibility study proposes a 12-year underground mining operation.

The underground mine will be accessed by a 1.2-km-long ramp into the deposit. The ramp will serve as the access to the mine for personnel and materials, the haulage of waste and ore, and for ventilation. Owing to the high-grade nature of the orebody and the positive geotechnical conditions, the deposit will be primarily mined using long-hole stoping methods, with 20-m-wide, 25-m-high and 20-m-long stope sizes. Certain zones will use the drift-and-fill method.

The initial mining rate is estimated at 3 000 t/d in the first four years. From Year 5, average ore production of 3 400 t/d is planned to be achieved through plant optimisation.

Average yearly mined production is forecast at 223 000 gold equivalent ounces (GEOs), with an average of 289 000 GEOs mined during the first four full years of production.

Ore will be processed using primary and secondary crushing, a ball mill and a two-stage sequential flotation circuit to recover gold, silver and copper into two separate saleable concentrates, which will be trucked to the port for export.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create about 875 jobs during construction and about 450 jobs once the mine is in production.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $783-million and an internal rate of return of 40%, with a payback of two years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial preproduction capital expenditure is estimated at $315.5-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
DPM has been granted an environmental licence for exploitation for the Loma Larga project, paving the way for the company to prepare for formal negotiations for the exploitation agreement. 

The project includes the development of wastewater treatment and storage facilities, as well as fully lined tailings and contact water storage ponds. Contact water will be collected and recycled within the mine’s processing facility and treated at the water treatment plant, in line with International Finance Corporation and Ecuadorian standards and industry best practices. Noncontact water is designed to be diverted from the Loma Larga project area with lined diversion channels.

During the second quarter, DPM completed an update of the feasibility study for the Loma Larga project. This included an update to the project economics to reflect the current gold price environment and revised capital and operating cost estimates.

The company has said it will disclose the results "in due course".

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
DRA Americas (feasibility study).

Contact Details for Project Information
Dundee Precious Metals, tel +1 416 365 5191 or email investor.info@dundeeprecious.com.