Mining News: Smooth mine start at Pretium’s Brucejack

Pretium Resources Inc. Aug. 10 reported a smooth ramp up of operations at it Brucejack gold mine in northwestern British Columbia. During commissioning in June and grade ramp-up in July a total of 25,392 ounces of gold were produced from low-grade stockpiles, development muck; plus ore introduced to the mill in July. Construction and mechanical commissioning at the mine is substantially finished, and the demobilization of construction and contract crews is nearly complete. The permanent operations team has now assumed full management of the mine, and all of the main operating units in the mill are now fundamentally performing as expected. In July, the process plant at Brucejack operated near nameplate capacity, processing an average of 2,699 metric tons of ore per day, which is 99.9 percent of the 2,700-metric-ton-per-day nameplate capacity. With the achievement of commercial production, the grade of the ore introduced to the mill was increased with a focus on optimizing recoveries in the gravity and flotation circuits. Gold-silver doré is now being produced and flotation concentrate is being bagged. As the grade of ore has ramped up, doré and flotation concentrate production has increased and gold-silver inventory has accumulated and gold sales have begun. During the grade ramp-up in July, 16,882 oz of gold were produced from stockpiles, development muck and the introduction of stope ore. Underground development continued to advance through the second quarter and subsequently reached design-level production. Long-hole drilling is currently drilling off stopes at a rate of approximately 235 meters per day. Currently six stopes are operational, four stopes are available for drilling and an additional 17 stopes are in various stages of being developed.

In June, Pretium raised C$5 million to fund a 2017 regional grassroots exploration program designed to follow-up on the results from the 2016 program. This work began with prospecting, sampling and mapping approximately 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) east of the Brucejack Mine with the aim of generating targets for drilling later in the program.

–SHANE LASLEY