Goldcorp reported in late June Line 2 at its Peñasquito mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, had achieved mechanical completion and was ramping up to design capacity of 50,000 mt/d. Peñasquito’s Line 1, which produced its first concentrates in October 2009, has been operating regularly at designed throughput of 50,000 mt/d. Mining rates have continued in excess of 500,000 mt/d, and concentrate grades and quality remain well within expectations.

In its first-quarter 2010 report, Barrick Gold provided the following updates on its Pueblo Viejo, Pascua-Lama and Cerro Casale gold development projects.

The Pueblo Viejo project in the Dominican Republic is advancing on schedule and in line with its $3-billion pre-production capital budget (100% basis), with overall construction nearly 20% complete and initial production anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2011. At the end of the first quarter, approximately two-thirds of the capital had been committed, and engineering and procurement by major EPCM contractors was over 90% complete. Significant long-lead-time items such as the autoclaves and oxygen plant were on schedule, site preparation earthworks were essentially complete, and about 57,300 m3 of concrete, or about 40% of the total, had been poured. Barrick’s 60% share of annual gold production in the first full five years of operation is expected to average 625,000 to 675,000 oz at total cash costs of $250 to $275/oz. Goldcorp holds the remaining 40% of the project.

Expomin, a biennial event regarded as Latin America’s largest mining equipment exposition, was held in mid-April this year.

More than 65,000 visitors attended the five-day trade show and conference to view the latest mining-related products, consult with 1,200 exhibitors from 36 countries spread over an exhibit area of more than 65,000 m2, and listen to technical, commercial and political presentations by a wide variety of international speakers. The new Chilean Minister of Mines, Laurence Golborne, inaugurated Expomin 2010 in a ceremony also attended by the chairmen of Sonami, Consejo Minero, Aprimin, Codelco and other representatives of the domestic and international mining sector.

Minefinders Corp. has received the results of an independently prepared draft prefeasibility study assessing the addition of a mill to its Dolores heap leach gold operations 250 km west of the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. The company is advancing to a detailed feasibility study, which will evaluate additional mill options. 

Quadra Mining reported on March 8 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with State Grid International Development Ltd.