Aurelia upgrades Peak process plant

According to Mining News Pro - The process plant now has the flexibility to produce gold doré and separate copper, lead and zinc concentrates at throughput rates of 800,000 tonnes a year of gold and base metal feed.

This capacity is set to be rapidly used with the processing of Chronos lead-zinc ore and in subsequent years with the processing of gold-lead-zinc ore from the Kairos Zone.

“We are pleased to report that the major upgrade of the Peak processing circuit has been commissioned on time and in line with guidance,” Aurelia chief executive Dan Clifford said.

“While we remain a gold-dominant business, the Peak plant upgrade delivers significantly greater flexibility to unlock value from various high-grade copper, lead and zinc ores, enabling increased levels of throughput, reduced unit costs and increased cash flow.”

Aurelia plans to complete process optimisation over the coming months.

Gold remains Aurelia’s main revenue driver, contributing around 65 per cent of group revenue.

The Peak ore body was first discovered in 1980, and has produced over a million ounces of gold from the deposit between 1991 and 2002 when mining ceased.

Aurelia acquired the Peak gold mine from Canadian mining company New Gold in 2018.