Orvana Minerals announces that its Bolivian subsidiary, Empresa Minera Paitití S.A., has produced its first doré as part of the phased restart of the Don Mario Plant. Following completion of performance verification of the comminution and thickening circuits, and upgrades to the Au-Ag desorption and smelting areas, EMIPA commenced operational trials by processing legacy sulfide ore through the Au-Ag circuit, resulting in the production of the first doré bar.
"Producing the first doré bar marks an important milestone in restarting the Don Mario plant," said Juan Gavidia, Chief Executive Officer of Orvana.
"This achievement confirms that the Au-Ag circuit is operating as expected following refurbishment and upgrades. Achieving this milestone during a period of strong gold and silver prices further underscores the strategic importance of bringing Don Mario back into operation. Our focus now is on completing construction and commissioning of the Cu circuits required to process the oxide stockpiles and advancing the phased integration of all processing circuits to support oxide stockpile ramp-up and achievement of full operating capacity" he added.
The Don Mario operation, located in the Don Mario district in southeastern Bolivia, is owned and operated by EMIPA, Orvana's Bolivian subsidiary. Mining and milling operations at Don Mario were temporarily suspended in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 following depletion of the mineral reserves then being mined.
The Company is now advancing the Oxides Stockpile Project ("OSP"), which is designed to process oxide material that was stockpiled during previous years of mining at Don Mario. The project includes an expansion and upgrade of Don Mario Processing Plant to optimize the recovery of copper, gold and silver from these stockpiles.
