Excellon Achieves Dry Mining Conditions at Platosa Mine With Completion of Optimization Plan, Mexico
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Excellon Resources Inc. has achieved dry mining conditions and completed its mine optimization plan at the company’s Platosa Mine in Durango, Mexico.
“The completion of the optimization plan at Platosa marks a significant milestone in Platosa’s history and we now have a system fully implemented to eliminate the major bottleneck on production going forward. With dry operating conditions, our immediate goal is a smooth transition to materially higher rates of production and a return to an industry-leading cost profile in the coming quarters,” said Brendan Cahill, president and chief executive officer.
“The team at Platosa, led by VP Technical Services Denis Flood, Operations Manager Hector Lira and Project Manager Gerardo Labra, deserves great credit for implementing this plan over the past 18 months. We also benefited immensely from expert technical oversight by Michael Verreault and his team at HydroRessources Inc. and Patrick Martel and Alex Labbe of Technosub Inc,” added Cahill.
• All current production headings at Platosa are dry, with ramp up in production rates underway and high-grade
headings accessed in the Rodilla and Guadalupe South Mantos
• Completed installation of dewatering infrastructure
• Achieved targeted pumping and drawdown rates
OPTIMIZATION PLAN UPDATE
As further described in the company’s annual information form (AIF), the company initiated an optimization plan to more effectively dewater Platosa through an enhanced well-pumping system. The optimization plan maintains and increases a localized “cone of depression” of the water table around the mine workings, allowing dry mining conditions at Platosa. The company is transitioning to higher rates of production in fresh high-grade manto mineralization at lower costs relative to current and historical production at Platosa. Refer to the AIF for summary estimates on Platosa production rates and costs subsequent to the completion of the Optimization Plan.
The company has now completed the installation and commissioning of two booster stations and installed 12 submersible pumps. Both booster stations are now running at full capacity and nearly 100 percent efficiency. Drawdown rates have met or exceeded the company’s forecasts, with pumping rates increasing to over 30,000 gpm in early July.
The company is currently operating on high-grade working faces in Rodilla and the Guadalupe South Manto. In the near term, the company expects to access the high-grade 623 Manto and move to six production faces during the third quarter. A further update on the transition to higher production rates will be provided in the coming weeks.
About Excellon
Excellon’s 100 percent owned Platosa Mine in Durango has been Mexico’s highest-grade silver mine since production commenced in 2005. The company is focused on optimizing the Platosa Mine’s cost and production profile, discovering further high-grade silver and carbonate replacement deposit (CRD) mineralization on the Platosa Project and capitalizing on the opportunity in current market conditions to acquire undervalued projects in Latin America.
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