Nevada Copper has provided an update on the progress of its operating restart activities at the Pumpkin Hollow underground copper mine in Nevada.
The company said Small Mine Development commenced underground activities on June 1. Six working faces were made available to the contractor to accelerate primary and secondary lateral development. Nevada Copper said mine development in the EN Zone, beyond the completed dike crossings, continues to encounter competent rock as predicted by the its geotechnical model.
The key ventilation raise is now completed with the fans commissioned. This raise, noted the miner, represents the remaining piece of the main ventilation infrastructure to provide fresh air circulation to all active areas of the mine, specifically into the EN Zone.
In addition to the restart of ore stockpile crushing on surface, several other key mill and process systems have been tested, in preparation for a smooth restart of processing operations next quarter. Several opportunities to improve the paste plant operation that are expected to lead to further improvements in operating costs for dry stack tails, tails filtration and paste delivery are under investigation.
“We are extremely pleased with the accelerating progress as we prepare for the near-term commencement of processing operations and concentrate production,” said Randy Buffington, president and CEO of Nevada Copper.
Pumpkin Hollow is considered Nevada Copper’s flagship. It has substantial reserves and resources including copper, gold and silver.
Source: Nevada Copper