Mesquite - California
| Royalty: | 0.5%-2.0% NSR |
|---|---|
| 2009 Revenue: | $2.832 M |
| Operator: | New Gold Inc. |
The Mesquite mine, operated by New Gold, is located in southern California and is permitted for open pit mining and heap leach processing. Franco-Nevada holds a royalty on the entire Mesquite property ranging from 0.5% to 2.0% NSR, depending on the claim block. In 2009, gold sales were 143,509 ounces at a cash cost per ounce of $596. The 2009 production and sales benefitted from higher tonnes placed on the leach pad and increased recoveries from secondary leaching. As part of New Gold’s 2009 update to mineral reserves and resources, Mesquite’s proven and probable mineral reserves increased by 0.5 million ounces compared to the end of 2008. These additional reserves should allow Mesquite to extend the mine life and/or increase annual throughput. New Gold announced on January 25, 2010 that they expect Mesquite to produce and sell between 145,000 and 155,000 ounces of gold in 2010 at a cost of sales between $540-$560/oz.
New Gold has indicated that in 2010 it plans to evaluate various treatment alternatives for known sulphide resources that currently lie beneath the pits being mined at Mesquite. The deeper sulphide resource is not currently part of the mine plan due to the lower recovery rates achieved on sulphides via heap leaching. However, if a processing methodology can be established making the deeper sulphides economic, this could increase the mineral reserves base as well as allow New Gold to explore for additional sulphide resources below the base of the oxide mineralization throughout the property. New Gold intends to provide further updates on this evaluation in 2010.
