This post is also available in:
If you were unable to attend the MinexCorp CEO meeting where the latest news on the second La Maria mining project was discussed, we bring you a summary that will clear up all your questions.
Progress on Infrastructure
- The camp is almost finished.
- The first of the cabins is almost finished, ready for habitation next week.
- The restaurant and office are also finished.
- The water works are 50% complete, we no longer have the problems caused by the heavy rains in the region.
- The warehouse is fully operational.
- The medical dispensary is also at 100%.
- The laboratory, built from scratch, is operational. We have an atomic solution equipment, one of the few in the region. This means that it will be a source of income for this service because we will be working with other mining companies.
- We have the three-phase power network working perfectly, it is made with different transformers and we are connecting one by one.
- The plant is calibrated and we are processing ore for an upcoming smelter.
- By 2021 the plant will be operational.
News at the Mines
- Progress is slower, but we are washing 12-15 tonnes.
- We already have the explosive, so the increase in washing will be substantial.
- The plant is working with our own ore, but we are going to hire external ore for the plant.
- In January we will have 50-60 tonnes per day thanks to this external material.
How does La Maria work?
In contrast to Vereda Guayaquil this is a continuous process, the ore comes in, it is powdered or extruded and this ore is floated.
As the gold is heavier than the rest, the part that remains below the flotation tank is the part we are interested in. Out of 100 tonnes that we process, we are actually interested in 5 tonnes.
These 5 tonnes are then cyanurated, in the cyanidation process we get the gold and silver to become liquid. Then a precipitate is made with zinc and we transform it back to a solid state.
This is a kind of sludge, which is stored in a press, then melted down. That’s why we talk about the fact that at La María we do melting.
Those who say when it is smelted are the safety company, this is the most dangerous process that exists in a mine because this is where the gold is obtained.
