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Candelaria Mine, Nevada

  • Candelaria Mine Technical Report

Location and History

Candelaria is located in west central Nevada, 90 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of Hawthorne.Access is good with a paved road extending off Highway 95 to the mine. Critical infrastructure components -- power lines and water supply installed during previous operations -- are maintained for future use.

Originally discovered in 1863, Candelaria was intermittently mined by underground methods from discovery up to the mid-1960's. Open pit mining began in the late 1970's and ceased in 1999. Silver production totaled about 68 million ounces. Exploration by Kinross Gold Corporation, the former owner, included 109,134 meters of drilling in 771 holes which outlined the Diablo and Northern Belle resources.

Geology and Metallurgy

The silver deposits at Candelaria originally formed a continuous, tabular-shaped zone with approximate dimensions of 6,100 meters along strike, 760 meters downdip and thicknesses of one meter to over 30 meters. The mineralization was deposited in regional thrust faults, principally the Lower Candelaria Shear. Later faulting disrupted the continuous zone into structural blocks hosting the current deposits.

All the measured and indicated resources exist as in-situ material beneath the Diablo and Northern Belle pits and 60% of inferred resources exist in the leach pads and low-grade stockpiles.

Testwork and historical production on leach pads indicates approximately 50% of the silver is recoverable by leaching. Our testwork suggests a process of milling followed by flotation, roasting and leaching will yield a 75% recovery of silver.

Project Scope and Plans

A scoping study prepared by Kappes, Cassidy & Associates (KCA) suggests the project could be advanced as a milling operation followed by leaching operation, at two million tons per year, once appropriate silver prices are achieved.

This year we will further investigate values in the leach pads.

For details on the reserves and resources of the Candelaria Mine Project,view the current Resource Summary (312 kb pdf).