La Coipa (50% ownership) - Chile
The La Coipa mine is located in the Atacama
Region of northern Chile, approximately 1,000 kilometers north
of Santiago and 140 kilometers northwest of the community of
Copiapó, Chile. Kinross acquired its ownership interest in the
La Coipa open pit mine upon completion of the combination with
TVX on January 31, 2003.
The earliest written information about La
Coipa as a precious metal prospect dates back almost a century,
when a small underground copper-silver mine was in operation
about 2 kilometers southeast of the present day operations.
Regional resources have been sporadically exploited since then,
but the La Coipa area itself did not receive any attention from
exploration geologists until the late 1970s.
The overall operation consists of five
deposits known as Ladera-Farellon, Coipa Norte, Brecha Norte,
Can-Can and Puren. Coipa Norte and Brecha Norte are currently
being mined by open pit methods, and exploitation at Puren began
in 2005, with Can-Can to follow in 2007. Mining of the Brecha
Norte ore body began in 2003 and will be completed in 2006.
The La Coipa open pit mine and its 15,000
tonne per day mill began operation in October 1991. A new
crushing system was installed in October 1999, increasing
throughput to 17,000 tonnes per day. Conventional open pit
mining methods and equipment are used to mine all ore and waste.
Benches are laid out at 10 meter intervals, allowing for the
existence of berms every two benches. The overall wall slopes
vary from 45 degrees to 52 degrees. Mining is carried out with
one hydraulic shovel, front-end loaders, diesel rotary drills,
and 154-tonne trucks.
The Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves are
sufficient for four years of production. The mine is scheduled
to cease production in 2010 if additional reserves are not
found; however, Kinross believes there is significant potential
for additional reserves and resources near the present mine
site.
Selected Financial and Production
Information
|
|
|
Years ended December
31, |
|
La Coipa (50%) |
|
2005 |
2004 |
2003(a) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tonnes mined(b) |
000s |
3,450 |
3,769 |
4,257 |
|
Tonnes processed(b) |
000s |
6,496 |
6,562 |
5,928 |
|
Gold grade |
gpt |
1.01 |
1.10 |
1.20 |
|
Silver grade |
gpt |
45.07 |
60.83 |
65.00 |
|
Gold recovery |
% |
80.5% |
81.2% |
83.5% |
|
Silver recovery |
% |
54.0% |
57.5% |
60.7% |
|
Gold equivalent production |
ounces |
125,991 |
150,887 |
144,125 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue |
US$ MM |
60.3 |
59.0 |
51.5 |
|
Cost of sales |
US$ MM |
45.4 |
39.7 |
34.4 |
|
Accretion & reclamation expense |
US$ MM |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.3 |
|
Depreciation, depletion & amortization |
US$ MM |
15.8 |
16.8 |
17.9 |
|
Exploration |
US$ MM |
1.1 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
|
Impairment charge |
US$ MM |
0.0 |
0.0 |
68.8 |
|
Other |
US$ MM |
0.0 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
|
Net earnings (loss) |
US$ MM |
-2.4 |
0.9 |
-70.8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unit Costs: |
|
|
|
|
|
Per gold equivalent ounce produced |
US$/oz |
360 |
263 |
239 |
|
Per tonne milled |
US$/t |
6.99 |
6.05 |
5.80 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
a) 2003
results are for the 11 months from February through
December only |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mineral Reserve and Resource Summary
Kinross Gold Corporation’s Share at December 31, 2005
|
|
Tonnes |
Grade |
Ounces |
|
|
( X
1,000) |
(g/t) |
( X
1,000) |
|
Gold |
|
|
|
|
Proven and Probable Reserves |
8,469 |
0.40 |
15,210 |
|
Measured and Indicated Resources |
8,642 |
0.89 |
247 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Silver |
|
|
|
|
Proven and Probable Reserves |
8,469 |
89.60 |
24,389 |
|
Measured and Indicated Resources |
8,642 |
42.50 |
11,813 |
|
