Crystallex to pour gold at Albino

The first gold pour is imminent at the Albino 1 concession in Venezuela’s Kilometre 88 district.

Crystallex International (VSE) reports that the 400-ton-per-day mill is now fully operational and targeted to produce 64,000 oz. during the first full year of production. Cash costs are projected to be less than US$100 per oz. Reserves from three zones minable by open-pit methods, combined with surface tailings, are estimated at 502,000 tonnes grading 8.1 grams per tonne. The potential geological resource is estimated at 50 million tonnes grading 1.5 grams.

A 1,600-metre drilling program was carried out on the Conductora and Aguao 2 zones in an effort to delineate the ore shoots. Both zones remain open at depth and the Aguao 2 is open partially along strike to the southwest. Representative drill values from Conductora are as follows: 4 metres of 24.95 grams for hole 94-16; 2.1 metres of 4.33 grams and 11.7 metres of 5.62 grams for 94-17; and 17 metres of 4.85 grams, including an interval of 10.42 grams over 3.7 metres, for 94-20.

Selected results from the Aguao 2 trend include 0.5 metres of 17.82 grams and 5.6 metres of 2.12 grams for hole 94-6, 4.1 metres of 4.2 grams for 94-9, and 3.5 metres of 5.98 grams plus 3.4 metres of 3.7 grams for 94-10. Crystallex believes Conductora and Aguao 2 are splays associated with the same shear system and that, possibly, they connect at depth.