TORONTO, April 28, 2021 /CNW/ - Argonaut Gold
Inc. (TSX: AR) (the "Company", "Argonaut Gold" or "Argonaut")
is pleased to announce it has received all necessary
regulatory approvals, including a modification to the existing Air
Quality permit, to allow for the construction, installation and
operation of a new conveying and stacking system at its Florida
Canyon mine in Nevada, USA.
The equipment associated with the conveying and stacking system is
expected to begin arriving on site in May, and it is estimated that
the new system will be operational and ramped up to design capacity
during the third quarter of 2021. The capital associated with
the convey and stack project was included in Argonaut's 2021
capital guidance (see press release dated January 19, 2021).
Pete Dougherty, President and CEO
stated: "When we acquired the Florida Canyon mine, we saw the
opportunity to eliminate multiple re-handling of ore and
significantly reduce the operating cost profile. The receipt
of the Air Quality Permit modification allows us to execute on our
plan to lower cost and also raise the production profile at Florida
Canyon. Furthermore, the conveying and stacking system will
be operated on grid power and eliminate the need to run diesel haul
trucks from the crusher to the leach pads, which we expect will
reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
During the fourth quarter 2020, the Company eliminated a
re-handle of ore prior to the primary crusher by adding a drop box
to the design. Haul trucks now dump ore directly into a box
that feeds into the primary crusher. Prior to the addition of
the drop box, the primary crusher had to be loader fed, which
required haul trucks to dump ore on the ground, a dozer to push the
ore into a pile and a loader to feed to the primary
crusher.
Currently, once ore goes through the primary and secondary
crushers, it is loaded into haul trucks with a front-end loader and
delivered to the leach pads via haul trucks. Argonaut
identified potentially significant operating cost savings once it
can eliminate the re-handle on the back end of the secondary
crushing by switching to a conveying and stacking system to
transport crushed ore to the leach pads.
This change will also free up mobile equipment to transport more
ore tonnes from the open pit to the crusher and is expected to
increase the annual production profile at Florida Canyon beginning
in 2022.
For further information on the Florida Canyon mine, please see
the report listed below on the Company's website or on
www.sedar.com:
Florida Canyon
Gold Mine
|
NI 43-101 Technical
Report on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Florida Canyon Gold
Mine Pershing County, Nevada, USA dated July 8, 2020 (effective
date June 1, 2020)
|
About Argonaut Gold
Argonaut Gold is a Canadian gold company engaged in exploration,
mine development and production. Its primary assets are the
El Castillo mine and San Agustin mine, which together form the El
Castillo Complex in Durango,
Mexico, the La Colorada
mine in Sonora, Mexico and the
Florida Canyon mine in Nevada,
USA. The Company also holds the construction stage Magino
project, the advanced exploration stage Cerro del Gallo project and several other
exploration stage projects, all of which are located in North
America.
Argonaut Gold Inc.
Dan
Symons
Vice President, Corporate Development & Investor Relations
Phone: 416-915-3107
Email: dan.symons@argonautgold.com
SOURCE Argonaut Gold Inc.