Reconfiguration of the Gold Processing Plant at the Independencia Mine has Commenced
Toronto, Ontario / TheNewswire / August 2, 2016 - Latin American Minerals ("LAT" or the "Company") (TSX-V: LAT) today announced that it has initiated a plan to increase throughput and improve recoveries at the Independencia Gold Mine in Paraguay.
The technical study for the reconfiguration of the gold processing plant was developed with John T. Boyd Company ("Boyd"), after the Boyd engineering and metallurgy team visited the mine in December 2015 to assess the most cost effective way to increase gold production at the mine. The initial goal is to double the throughput of raw material and increase production to 300 ounces of gold per month.
Basil Botha, Chairman and CEO said: "For the initial resumption of operations, the company intends to reprocess 85,000 tonnes of existing tailings grading 0.84 g Au per tonne, followed by processing of low grade stockpiles grading 0.48 g Au per tonne. The reconfiguration of the plant will allow for the efficient processing of low grade ore otherwise considered uneconomic. The entire operation has been designed to move the raw feed hydraulically through pumps and pipes, which contributes to reduced production costs."
The Company's Chief Operating Officer, Cameron Tymstra, is now resident in Paso Yobai, Paraguay and is directly involved in the daily operations and the rebuilding of the gold processing plant under the guidance of John T. Boyd Company.
Cameron holds a degree in Mineral Engineering from the University of Toronto. He has worked on a number of exploration and development projects across Canada, United States and Colombia. These projects include gold, silver, iron and uranium. Cameron served as the Operations Manager for Northern Iron Corp. where he oversaw the feasibility investigations at their Ontario projects. He spent the last two years as the Mining Engineer at Magnetation Inc.'s iron tailings mining and reprocessing operations in the United States.
The Boyd recommendations include de-sliming, reconfiguration of the gravity circuit, conversion of the heap leach pads to a vat leach system, along with various upgrades to the carbon loading and stripping circuits. Based on Boyd's professional experience and LAT's empirical data, these changes are expected to significantly improve recoveries.
The company also plans to initiate a 10,000 metre drill program in early September.
About the Company
Latin American Minerals Inc. is a mineral exploration and gold mining company which holds its core gold and diamond projects in Paraguay. The Company is currently expanding its Independencia Mine gold processing plant to encompass vat-leach gold recovery from mineralization extracted in open pit bulk mining activities at its fully permitted mining concession.
Management has identified six gold zones for drill testing on the Company's adjacent exploration claims, which is part of the Company's 15,020 hectare Paso Yobai gold project.
Qualified person
Gregory B. Sparks, BSc, PEng,, Managing Director - Metals for the John T. Boyd Company, consultant for the LAT process plant reconfiguration, and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this press release with respect to matters relating to reconfiguration of the process plant located at the Independencia Mine.
For more information, please contact:
Basil Botha, CEO & Chairman
Toronto: (1-416) 363-0841 or Vancouver: (1-604) 418-3856
E-mail: information@latinamericanminerals.com
Website: www.latinamericanminerals.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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