San Andrés is an open-pit, heap-leach mining operation in western Honduras.
Project History
The San Andrés mine lies in the Trifmio District, a 7,500 square kilometre area that straddles the borders between Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala known for its gold, silver antimony, copper, lead, zinc and iron resources. The mine has been in production since 1983 and has well developed infrastructure.
Type of Operation
Open-pit, heap-leach
Mine Highlights
- Improvements at San Andrés in 2008 included the renegotiation of hauling and loading contract, a new conveyor line and primary crusher, upgrade of the secondary crusher system and two new agglomeration drums.
- Total reserve and resource base of approximately 2.4 million ounces of gold, including 734,000 ounces in reserves.
- In 2009, $13 million has been allocated for further expansion and improvements of the San Andrés property including the construction of new leach pads and a bigger stacking area.
- Costs are expected to continue to decline.
Reserves and Resources
(at December 31, 2008)
Proven and Probable Reserves
36M tonnes at 0.63 grams/tonne gold = 734,000 ounces gold
Measured and Indicated Resources
(exclusive of Reserves)
84M tonnes at 0.59 grams/tonne gold = 1.6M ounces gold
Inferred Resources
(exclusive of reserves)
4.7M tonnes at 0.79 grams/tonne gold = 120,000 ounces gold
Expected Annual Gold Production
Approximately 70,000 to 75,000 ounces of gold in 2009
Approximately 70,000 to 80,000 ounces of gold in 2010
Expected Remaining Mine Life
5+ years