Construction on the Relief Canyon gold mine was started in mid-2019 by Americas Gold and Silver
First gold pour achieved at Relief Canyon gold mine by Americas Gold and Silver. (Credit: Pixabay/Erik Stein)
Americas Gold and Silver, a Canadian-based precious metals producer, has announced first gold pour from the Relief Canyon gold mine in Pershing County, Nevada, US.
The company had broken ground on the gold mine in mid-May 2019 and since then has completed the initial construction.
According to Americas Gold and Silver, the initial capital for the mine development is estimated to be within the budget of $28-30m.
The Canadian mining company has been developing the Relief Canyon gold mine as an open pit operation. The company started active mining of the ore at Relief Canyon in early December 2019 and has so far placed 200,000 tonnes of it on the leach pad.
Americas Gold and Silver said that the ore crushing and stacking circuit is operating as expected, while the adsorption/desorption/recovery (ADR) plant is fully functioning.
The Canadian miner is ramping up production at the US gold project and expects it to reach design crushing and stacking rates of nearly 14,500 tonnes per day.
Relief Canyon gold mine expected to begin commercial production shortly
Commercial production at the Relief Canyon gold mine is anticipated to be achieved by the end of the second quarter of 2020.
Americas Gold and Silver said that its precious metals production is likely to go up substantially in the next two years, owing to production ramp up at the Relief Canyon mine along with anticipated growth in silver production from the Cosalá Operations in Sinaloa, Mexico, starting in the second half of the year.
The precious metals producer said that its gold equivalent production is estimated to move up from about 14,000 ounces in 2019 to a range of 60,000-70,000 ounces this year and 90,000-110,000 ounces in the next year. The two-year forecasts include only the Relief Canyon and the Cosalá Operations, said the company.
Americas Gold and Silver president and CEO Darren Blasutti said: “Our two-year outlook demonstrates that 2020 will be a transformational year for the Company with further significant increases expected in 2021.
“Relief Canyon will provide considerable exposure to gold and increase the Company’s forecasted consolidated revenue to approximately 70% from precious metals based on current prices.”
The Canadian mining company is also involved in the silver-producing Galena Complex in Idaho, US, where it holds a 60% stake. Apart from that, Americas Gold and Silver has an option on the San Felipe silver-zinc-lead project, which is under development in Sonora, Mexico.