San Andrés is an open pit gold mine in Honduras with expected annual production of approximately 100,000 ounces, for 2012.
Overview
Location
San Andrés is located in the Department of Copán in the interior highlands of western Honduras approximately 150 kilometres from San Pedro Sula. It is within the Municipality of La Union and approximately 18 kilometres due west of the town of Santa Rosa de Copán, the capital of the Department of Copán.
Type of Operation
Open pit, heap leach
Proven and Probable Reserves
(at December 31, 2007)
33,473,000 tonnes at 0.69 grams/tonne gold = 741,000 ounces gold
Measured and Indicated Resources
(exclusive of Reserves)
42,962,000 tonnes at 0.57 grams/tonne gold = 787,000 ounces gold
Inferred Resources
249,000 tonnes at 0.62 grams/tonne gold = 5,000 ounces gold
Expected Annual Gold Production
75,000 to 85,000 ounces of gold for 2008
90,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold for 2009
Expected Mine Life
5+ years
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 San Andrés area is reported to be the first Spanish gold discovery in Honduras, with initial production in the early 1500s. The mine has been in production since 1983 and has well developed infrastructure. Total annual production is approximately 70,000 ounces.
operating plan
Yamana has initiated an aggressive exploration program including drilling, sampling and mapping to better define the pit boundaries, test areas between the pits and assess potential mineralization in other areas of the mining lease. There is significant reserve upside as drilling indicates that the high sulphidation epithermal gold mineralization system is much more extensive than previously recognized.
In addition to proven and probable reserves of 741,000 ounces (December 31, 2007), there is a large measured and indicated resource of 787,000 ounces outside of the current planned pit boundary. Yamana plans to conduct testwork and study the feasibility of dump leaching which may take this large resource economic. Annual production is expected to be approximately 100,000 ounces of gold for 2012.