Projects

pajingo gold mine

  • Ownership
    100%
  • Location
    50km south of Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia
  • Year commenced operations
    1986
  • History
    • 1983 - Pajingo field was discovered by Battle Mountain Gold Company
    • 1986 - First gold production from open pit mines
    • 1991 - Initial joint venture formed between Battle Mountain Gold and Normandy Mining Limited
    • 2001 - Newmont acquired Battle Mountain Gold
    • 2002 - Newmont Mining Corporation acquired 100% of Pajingo via its takeover of Normandy Mining
    • 2007 - North Queensland Metals and Heemskirk Consolidated purchased Pajingo from Newmont
    • 2010 - Conquest acquired 100% of Pajingo via its takeover of North Queensland Metals and purchase from Heemskirk Consolidated
    • 2011 - Evolution acquired 100% of Pajingo via Catalpa Resources and Conquest Mining merging and the concurrent acquisition of Newcrest Mining's Cracow and Mt Rawdon gold mines
  • Style of mineralisation
    Low-sulphidation epithermal
  • Contained metals
    Gold
 
  • Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources (at 31 Dec 2012)
    6.97Mt @ 5.8g/t for 1.3Moz gold
  • Ore Reserves (as at 31 Dec 2012)
    1.62Mt @ 6.3g/t for 0.33Moz gold
  • Mining Method
    Underground and open pit
  • Gold Production
    FY2010A 54,964 ounces
    FY2011A 45,889 ounces
    FY2012A 75,747 ounces
    FY2013F 85,000 to 90,000 ounces
  • Processing Method
    Conventional crush-grind-CIP to produce gold-silver dore
  • Treatment rate
    650,000tpa
  • Forecast mine life
    5 years
  • Geology
    The Pajingo mine's mineralisation is hosted in structurally controlled epithermal quartz veins within an andesite host rock. In general, veining strikes grid east with tensional jogs producing high grade pods trending grid east-north-east. The main mineralised veins in the Vera Nancy corridor plunge at about 20 degrees to grid east.

    Most ore bodies comprise a main vein, which carries the bulk of the precious metals, and splay veins that can contain economic grades but usually only when close to the main vein. The mineralised structures can vary from less than 1 metre to 15 metres in width, but are generally 1 metre to 3 metres wide.
  • Mining
    Underground mining is based on modified avoca and longhole open stoping methods with ore hauled to surface via decline. Open pit mining is by conventional drill and blast, load and haul methodology. An impressive turnaround was achieved at Pajingo in FY2012. Gold production of 75,747oz was well above guidance and cash operating costs of A$780/oz were well below guidance. This is an excellent outcome and a direct result of the re-tooling and capital investment programs implemented by Evolution to improve Pajingo's long-term sustainable performance.
  • Processing
    Ore is free milling and is treated on site by conventional crush-grind-CIP processing to produce gold-silver- dore.  The processing plant has capacity to process up to 650,000 tonnes per annum and is currently operated at 350,000 to 450,000tpa. Ore production is planned to be increased to utilise the latent capacity in the processing plant. Metallurgy is simple and gold and silver recoveries are very high, typically 94 to 95%.

 

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