Overview -
The Jacobina project is located in the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil approximately 340 km northwest of the city of Salvador. Salvador, the state capital of Bahia, has a population of 2.5 million.
The property consists of 5,996 ha of mining concessions, 129,572 ha of granted exploration concessions and 6,012 ha of filed exploration claims for a total of 141,580 ha.
The Serra do Jacobina mountains have been mined for gold since the late 17th century.
Numerous old workings from artisanal miners (garimpeiros) can be seen along a 15 km strike length, following the ridges of the mountain chain. Garimpeiro activity, on a small scale, has taken place sporadically up to the present day, mining mostly weathered ores.
The modern production history of the Jacobina mine began when the processing plant was commissioned in late 1982. Low metal prices forced the closure of the mine during the 1999-2004 period, after which production began again in mid-2005.
Yamana's land package includes the Joao Belo and Morro do Vento mines - collectively known as the Jacobina Complex - and the Canavieiras, Morro do Vento Extension and Serra do Corrego development projects.
As of December 31, 2008 proven and probable reserves stood at 17.2 Mt grading 2.14g/t gold for 1.185Moz gold.
The mining method that is used at the Jacobina underground mine is the sub-level retreat open stoping method.
The metallurgical process involves grinding of the run of mine material into a pulp, leaching the pulp in a conventional cyanide leaching process and then gold extraction of the enriched solution in a Carbon-In-Pulp (CIP) circuit.
;)
;)
