SURFACE

Fortuna pushing for June quarter start at Lindero

Argentinian mine progress still moving despite labour shortfall

The Lindero gold project in Argentina

The Lindero gold project in Argentina

The labour problems, which the miner said were connected to its main electromechanical and piping partner, resulted in a delay in progress in December and January. In response, president, CEO and director Jorge Ganoza said the contractor's scope was reduced and additional resources were brought in.

"Placement of ore on the leach pad and first dore pour is now scheduled for the second quarter," he said, though a more exact timeline was not released.

He did say, however, that the overall project's construction was 89% complete at the end of January, and with pre-commissioning now concluded at the primary and secondary crushing units, the circuits are being commissioned with ore.

Mechanical work is nearly complete at the operation's 18,750-tonne-per-day agglomeration plant, with piping and electrical just entering final stages following the labour issue. Pre-commissioning has now been set for March.

Lindero's 8-megawatt power plant and medium-voltage power distribution system have been commissioned, and this month the commissioning of the industrial water system will also be done - including a 13-kilometre pipeline to the mine site.

At the mine's 31-hectare leach pad and solutions ponds, construction is now done.

"Assembly and installation of the stacking system from the agglomeration plant to the leach pad is in progress, but behind schedule due to [the] shortfall," the company said, noting it is now set to wrap up in April. Pumping and solution management systems are also planned for April commissioning.

Equipment installation has been completed at the ADR plant, with piping and electrical work in progress. The miner said pre-commissioning should conclude in May, which is also when the same work is projected to be pre-commissioned for the SART plant.

Finally, Fortuna said, construction and implementation of the on-site assay laboratory had concluded. Sample preparation and analysis for gold using fire assay with an atomic absorption finish has been conducted at this facility since the end of January 2020.

Construction at Lindero was initially kicked off in September 2017. The open-pit operation has an expected mine life of 13 years.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production