Allied Nevada Gold Corp. officials have announced its Hycroft Mill expansion plans will be complete and operating at 130,000 metric tons per day (mt/d) by 2015. Phasing construction will start with a 75,000 mt/d plant in 2015, later increasing to 130,000 mt/d.
Once engineering is optimized, they added, capital costs will be lowered. Initially processing only higher grade oxide and transition ore will be used through the mill, as ore leaching will take place only on site, as will sulfide concentrate production as per demand.
In Q1, meanwhile, officials invested $723.5 million, or 58% of previously stated capital cost of $1.24 billion, including purchase obligations totaling $315.7 million—a portion of which are expected to be financed through capital leases. Expenditures for 2013 for the Hycroft mine, meanwhile, will total approximately $394.9 million.
Plant production in 2013 witnessed a 17% gold increase and 13% for silver year-on-year for 2012. Sales in the same period also increased by 34% for gold and 36% for silver. This year, Allied expects sales of up to 250,000 gold oz and up to 1.8 million silver oz. Sales by Q2 are expected at 90,000 to 100,000 gold oz, increasing in the second half of the year.
