McWATTERS MINING of Montreal is the proud owner of a positive feasibility study for its East Amphi underground gold project. The project is located at Malartic, Que., near McWatters' Kiena project (where mining has ceased).
East Amphi will require a capital investment of $13.5 million, but could pour its first gold as soon as six months after construction begins. Production is expected to be 48,000 oz Au annually at a cash cost of US$215/oz. Another $2.5 million will be spent at the Kiena mill to treat the East Amphi ore.
There may be over 180,000 oz in the deposit. Minable reserves are estimated to be 1.37 million tonnes at 4.16 g/t Au and will support mining for four years. Proven reserves are 168,793 tonnes at 4.67 g/t Au. An additional 11.2 million tonnes at 4.09 g/t Au are classified as probable. The outlined mineralization occurs within a depth of 230 m from the surface. Ore will be mined from Zones A, B1 and B2, which are open at depth and laterally, McWatters reports. The existing open pit produced 120,427 tonnes of ore grading 5.66 g/t Au during 1999.
The 1,000-tonnes/day East Amphi underground development will include a ramp from the pit. Longhole stoping and hydraulic backfill are planned. McWatters already has much of the equipment and trackless vehicles it will need at the mothballed Kienna mine. Ore will be crushed on-site and trucked to the Kiena mill.
The results of the feasibility study will be presented to the McWatters board early next year. No start date for production has been selected yet, but after the pit and shaft are dewatered, it would take only six months to complete construction and pre-production work.
You may contact McWatters VP of mining development or VP of corporate development at 514-879-1409. The company's web site is at www.mcwatters.com
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