Overview
The 100% Kinross-owned Kettle River-Buckhorn properties are located in Ferry County in the State of Washington. The properties cover approximately 3,075 hectares through patented and unpatented mining claims and fee lands. Kinross acquired Kettle River through its acquisition of Echo Bay on January 31, 2003. At the time, the mine was undergoing care and maintenance. Kinross resumed operations on the Emanuel Creek deposit in December 2003, which was completed in November 2005.
The primary mining method employed is cut and fill, with a target production rate of 900 tonnes per day. The Buckhorn mine ore is trucked 75 kilometers to the Kettle River Mill, which has a 1,800 tonne per day capacity.
The Buckhorn mine began production in October 2008, and produced 27,036 gold equivalent ounces at an average cost per ounce of $344 in 2008.
Location
The property is located in the Myers Creek Mining District of northeastern Okanogan County, Washington State, USA, in the southwest quarter of Section 24, Township 40N, Range 30E.
Geology
The Crown Jewel deposit occurs within a large skarn system formed at the southern contact of the Buckhorn Mountain Cretaceous-aged diorite-granodiorite pluton with Triassic-aged limestones and andesites. Both the skarn system and ore body are relatively tabular and flat-lying in geometry. The skarn system is compositionally zoned in relation to the intrusive pluton with gold mineralization both concordant and crosscutting to the various skarn assemblages. To date (Dec/98), only 500 acres of the approximate 2,000 acres of prospective skarn geology have been drill-tested.
Land holdings completely encompass a gold enriched skarn system similar to that at Nickel Plate deposit in BC and the Fortitude deposit in Nevada. Drilling indicates gold mineralization from surface to at least 700 ft depths in two drill-defined zones. High grade sections of up to 1.254 oz/ton Au are present from surface to depth.
The Crown Jewel gold deposit contains approximately 49,765 kg of gold at an average grade of 6.29 g/t. Average life of mine cash costs are estimated at US$5,144 per kg. At a minimum rate of 2,720 tonnes per day average annual production rates are forecast at approximately 5,754 kg of gold. Metallurgical recovery rate of 88% was estimated.
Mineralization
Gold mineralization is associated with a variety of skarn mineral assemblages, and is concentrated in a variety of stratigraphic/structural settings. The extent of "economic" (i.e. >0.042opt Au) mineralization is described as having dimensions of about 3,000ft x 1,000ft x 800ft. Sulfide mineralization, principally pyrrhotite, is more extensive. Within the broad zone of gold mineralization, no economic concentrations of other metals have been identified.
Mining & Operation
The primary mining method employed is cut and fill, with a target production rate of 900 tonnes per day. The Buckhorn mine ore is trucked 75 kilometers to the Kettle River Mill, which has a 1,800 tonne per day capacity.
The Buckhorn mine began production in October 2008, and produced 27,036 gold equivalent ounces at an average cost per ounce of $344 in 2008.
