Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSX-V:APN) has reported results from the Farellon Copper-Gold (Cu-Au) mine located near La Serena, Chile.
During the second quarter of 2021, the company said it extracted a total of 10,090 tonnes of mineralized Cu/Au material at Farellon and processed 7,047 tonnes at an average copper grade of about 1.49%.
In addition, sales of 220,660 pounds of copper generated about US$600,000 in revenue (after processing costs).
READ: Altiplano Metals initiates advance on Hugo Decline to 360-meter level at Farellon mine in Chile
At the end of June, Altiplano said it had 820 tonnes in stockpiles at the Farellon site and an additional 2,252 tonnes in process. In addition, the company has 1,400 tonnes of low-grade material that will be processed at the mill site at a later date to recover the value of the contained copper and iron.
The company said total revenue since the 1Q of 2018 generated at the Farellon operation now represents more than US$6.6 million from the sale of about 3,375,000 pounds of copper.
Total extracted tonnes in the 2Q improved by 3.3% from the previous quarter, it noted, but processed material was lower in the quarter, representing a 14.3 % decrease and overall grade declined by 2.3% from the first quarter.
Altiplano said the marginal decrease in grade continues to be attributed to further development work in non-productive areas (where 6,235 tonnes of waste was removed) and increased dilution from the initiation of the benching mining process of removing ceilings between drift levels.
The grade is expected to improve as new working headings are developed and improvements are made with the benching process. In addition, the ventilation improvements expected for completion in August 2021 will provide the opportunity to mine additional working headings leading to further grade control and output improvements.
"Our Q2 results at Farellon continue to reflect our focus on development and advancement of the Hugo Decline and the establishment of new working headings,” said Altiplano CEO Alastair McIntyre in a statement. “Improvements to the underground operations and the initiation of new bench mining techniques will provide us the opportunity to increase output and improve grade in advance of the mill start-up expected in Q4 2021."
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