American Bonanza Acquires Mill For The Copperstone Gold Mine
VANCOUVER - American Bonanza Gold Corp. reported the purchase of a milling and flotation circuit for the 100% owned Copperstone Mine in La Paz County, Arizona. Bonanza has acquired an option to purchase this 700 ton per day milling and flotation/gravity plant, including a pre-engineered mill building, for a purchase price of US$650,000.
The purchase of the mill at US$650,000 represents a significant cost savings and is expected to reduce the capital cost of the Copperstone project by over $500,000. The mill has operated for only 2 years and is in very good condition, and comes with a full set of engineering drawings, which will help accelerate construction timelines and reduce costs. Bonanza is currently working out the logistics for dismantling, transporting and re-erecting the mill at the Copperstone Mine. The mill is currently located in Calumet, Michigan, and includes a rod mill, ball mill, fume scrubber, flotation cells, cleaner cells, concentrate filter drum, tank thickeners, water storage tank, concentrate ore samplers, cyclones, duplex gravity concentrating jigs, the mill building, control panel and conveyor. ╩The mill does not include a crusher and crusher building, which Bonanza will purchase separately. The Copperstone Gold Mine is estimated to produce on average 46,000 ounces of gold annually for the first 3 years, and have a capital investment payback period of only 13 months. The 2010 feasibility study details a total capital cost of US$17.7 million, including working capital, G&A startup, reclamation bonding, and contingencies. The feasibility study estimates the cash production cost to be US $415 per ounce of gold produced. The feasibility study results indicate a total of 256,430 ounces of gold can be mined from current known diluted Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves during the 6.3 year mine life at Copperstone The company's address is Suite 305 - 675 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC V6B 1N2, (604) 688-7523, fax: (604) 681-0122, email: [email protected].