Tanjianshan mine
| Summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DescriptionThe Tanjianshan property covers 338 km² and includes four exploration licenses and two mining licenses. The mine consists of two separate deposits - Qinlongtan ("QLT") and Jinlonggou ("JLG"). The mine and mill were commissioned in Q4 2006 and commercial production was declared in Q1 2007.We were the first North American gold producer to build and operate a gold mine in China, and with the successful completion of the Sino Gold Mining Limited transaction on December 15, 2009, we became the largest foreign gold producer in China. In 2012, Tanjianshan plans to process 1.0 million tonnes of ore at 3.74 g/t Au. Capital spending for 2012 will be $10.0 million; the major cost will be $5.9 million for the construction of Tailings Dam 4. Tanjianshan Sulphide Ore Processing Facilities (click to enlarge) 
Resources and ReservesAs of December 31, 2010.
Files Tanjianshan Bankable Feasibility Study Report (prepared by RSG Global on behalf of Afcan Mining Corporation) April 2005
Last update: January 25, 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The Tanjianshan mine is located in the Dachaidan Region, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, northwest China. Qinghai is a relatively large province covering 720,000 km² and supporting a population of approximately 5.3 million. Its capital, Xining, is situated in the eastern part of the province. At a local scale, the project area is located 80 kilometers northwest of Dachaidan in the Haixi Prefecture. The nearest large population centres to the mine site are Dunhuang, Gansu Province (265 kilometers by road to the north) and Ge'ermu (260 kilometers by road to the south). The site is accessed by road. There is a main highway between Dunhuang and Ge'ermu or Dachaidan in Qinghai Province that passes within 12 kilometers of the plant site. The road is sealed and in good condition, ensuring year-round access throughout the area. The camp and the mill site at Tanjianshan are located at an elevation of 3,200 meters, with the main resource between 3,300 and 3,550 meters. Tanjianshan is located in the Saishiteng Mountains, and there is virtually no vegetation in the area. The landscape is composed of rugged mountains with slope angles of 45o to 50o. The Aolao River lies approximately two kilometers due east and is the only permanent river in the area. The project area experiences a dry continental climate with low rainfall, high evaporation and generally clear skies. Winters are long and summers short, with a large daily variance in temperature range. Last update: November 24, 2011. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geology & Mineralization | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In 2012 mining will continue from the Jinlonggou (JLG) open pit. At the recently producing Qinlongtan (QLT) deposit, gold mineralization is confined to the 50o - 60o east-dipping fault zone which cuts across a sequence of phyllites and marbles. The shear zone is typically 5 to 10 meters wide, and is open at depth. At JLG, surface mineralization is dominantly controlled by steeply dipping, northeast trending shear zones within carbonaceous phyllites. At depth and in the eastern part of the deposit, mineralization is associated with sub-horizontal diorite porphyry sills. At QLT, the gold occurs mainly as fine grained free gold, is associated with pyrite and is non-refractory, whereas at Jinlonggou, gold is associated with pyrite (and to a lesser extent arsenopyrite) and is mainly refractory. Last update: January 25, 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mining & Processing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tanjianshan is mined by conventional open pit methods using contract equipment. In 2011, we plan to process 1.0 million tonnes of ore at 4.04 g/t Au. Mining will continue from the Jinlonggou (JLG) open pit at a strip ratio of 2.56:1. The metallurgical plant is designed to handle both refractory and non-refractory ore. Non-refractory ore is subjected to whole ore CIL (Carbon In Leach), while refractory ore goes through a flotation circuit followed by roasting of the flotation concentrate. This roasted concentrate is then treated by CIL methods. Last update: January 17, 2011. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exploration | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exploration at Tanjianshan will consist of diamond testing of deep inferred resource mineralization located below the current JLG pit bottom and for potential bridging mineralization between the main JLG and M7 zones (5,000 metres). General target generation and drill testing (4,500 metres) will continue in the surrounding exploration licenses. Tanjianshan 323 Zone Plan (click to enlarge) 
Last update: January 25, 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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