Dolores Headed for Third-Quarter Start


Dolores is an 18,000-mt/d operation designed to produce more than 200,000
gold-equivalent oz/y over an initial mine life of 15 years.
Minefinders Corp. has its Dolores openpit, heap-leach, gold-silver project in Chihuahua, Mexico, on schedule and budget to begin mine production during the second quarter and gold production during the third quarter of 2007. The 18,000-mt/d mine is expected to produce more than 200,000 gold-equivalent oz/y over an initial mine life of 15 years. Capital cost to complete the project is estimated at $132 million. During 2007, a resource expansion program at Dolores is focusing on potential mineable underground high-grade zones below the current pit bottom and on mineralized zones in peripheral structures outside the current pit design. Minefinders continues to look for ways to optimize the project, including refinements in mine planning and processing that might derive from the new open-pit resource and reserve estimates and from possible future underground operations. Additional 2007 development plans include completion of a feasibility study for a flotation mill to process high-grade ores from the pit, expected to be added in the third year of open-pit mine life, with capacity for expansion to process possible underground resources. The primary mine equipment fleet includes 15 Komatsu HD785 100-mt haul trucks and two HD785 water trucks; two Komatsu D375A, one D61, and one D155AX dozers; two Komatsu PC3000 shovels; and two Komatsu WA900 and one WA600 loaders. Ancillary equipment includes a 60-ton crane, a WA470 tire handler, three Bobcat loaders, a fuel truck, and three graders. A Nordberg C160 jaw crusher and four Nordberg HP800 cone crushers constitute the primary equipment in the crushing plant. Power will be generated by six 1.8- MW primary generators, as well as seven other generators of various sizes. Gold will be recovered at a Merrill-Crowe plant designed and constructed by Lyntek. Dolores site construction is being managed by Minefinder’s Mexican operating subsidiary and Ausenco Americas. Terra Nova Technologies designed and is building the crusher and the conveying and stacking facilities. Rosales Construction is handling the earthworks, and ICSA is building the leach pad.