Orinoco produces first gold from Cascavel mine in Brazil

Orinoco has produced the first gold from its 70%-owned Cascavel mine in central Brazil.

The company said that this was a trial gold pour using some of the concentrate produced at the time of ongoing plant commissioning phase, derived from low-grade development material.

The trial has been designed to commission the gold furnace and test fluxing requirements for smelting.

Orinoco’s Cascavel gravity processing plant, which is currently running on a 24-hour basis, is continuing to process stockpiles of low-grade development material.

High-grade parcels of ore from production stopes are expected be processed over the next few weeks and assayed as Orinoco commences its production ramp-up.

Orinoco managing director Mark Papendieck said the first gold pour marked a milestone for the company and its shareholders.

Papendieck said: “It marks the beginning our transition to commercial gold miner and vindicates the faith and commitment which our shareholders, investors, financiers and supporters have placed in the Company over a number of years.

“The start of production and cash-flow marks a huge milestone for Orinoco and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has assisted us to get to this point.”

The Cascavel gold mine lies within Orinoco’s 70%-owned Faina Goldfields project in the State of Goiás and is currently operating with a gravity-only processing circuit.

Orinoco’s current focus at Cascavel is on expanding production of the existing mine and continuing to prove the extensions to the Cascaevl mineralisation.