| VIEW FROM THE TOP
INNOVATIVE SYSTEM HAS GAME-CHANGING POTENTIAL FRED STANFORD President and CEO of Torex Gold Resources
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Q: What is the state of the El Limón Guajes complex and
Q: What progress has been made at Media Luna, given the
what are the main challenges and expectations that you
effects of the late 2017 blockade?
have for this project?
A: Media Luna is the deposit that has the most potential to
A: The El Limón Guajes complex (ELG) is a company
extend the life of the ELG complex, once the open pits are
building asset. There are not many gold properties in the
mined out. It is a large deposit which has the potential to be
world that can produce more than 13,000 metric tonnes
mining for decades. As, with all deposits, Media Luna has its
per day of ore, through open pit mining, at a grade of 2.7
challenges as well. It has a lot of gold, but the grade of gold
grams of gold per tonne of ore mined. ELG also has two
per tonne is at the lower end of the range that can be mined
small, higher grade underground deposits, which enhance
profitably with conventional underground mining techniques.
the production potential of the complex. Looking to the
We are working hard to find efficient ways to mine this deposit,
future, the property has the potential for further production
so it is worth it for shareholders to invest the approximately
from deposits which have not yet been discovered or have
US$500 million that it will take to build the mine.
been discovered and are not yet in production, such as the nearby Media Luna Project.
The blockade was a devastating blow to investor confidence in Mexico in general, and Guerrero in particular. Investors
As with any business, there are always challenges, and
need to have confidence that a mine they have financed
ELG is not an exception to this rule. The ores in ELG have
will be allowed to operate continuously in order to pay back
some metallurgical challenges, as the ore contains soluble
their investment with an adequate return on that investment.
copper and soluble iron, which have a negative impact
If they are not confident, investors will take their money
on the cost to process the ores. The site team has done
elsewhere, and the communities in those locations will
an excellent job in finding ways to control these high
be the beneficiaries of such investments. Fortunately, the
cost elements.
communities around ELG and Media Luna understood this risk and brought the blockade to an end. Looking forward, we need to continue to operate without blockades to win
El Limón Guajes is a Company Building Asset
back investor confidence, as well as deliver the generation of jobs an investment in Media Luna could potentially bring. Q: The Muckahi Mining System is expected to significantly lower costs at underground mines. How was this innovative system developed and what is its potential in underground operations?
Another challenge with mining is the relationship with
A: I have been working on Muckahi for over 30 years. It is
surrounding communities. Mining always brings change.
a system that can work at any underground mine except
Communities will like some of the changes and not like
block cave mines. The problem being solved through this
others. It takes time for miners and communities to
technology is that underground mining, and mining in
understand each other’s needs and interests for ‘today’
general, is a material-handling and logistics business. We
and into the future. Together, we have made considerable
drill and blast and do ground support, everything else
progress in understanding each other. There is a good
is moving materials/supplies. We are the only logistics
community relationship foundation in place now. As we
business in the world that operates on single lane roads.
continue to work together and support each other, this foundation has the potential to support further investment
The thought was, “what if we could make two-lane traffic
in order to extend the mine life of the property.
in a tunnel that is half the current size?”
