Mining of the Pamour Open Pit commenced in late 2004, as a replacement for the Dome Open Pit where operations ceased in late 2005. In order to mine the pit to its full extents, 6.1 kilometers of highway were constructed to bypass the pit and a 13 kilometer haul road was built from the Dome site to the Pamour site.
Rising costs and lower than expected grades have resulted in an indefinite suspension of mining any additional stages of the Pamour Open Pit. The suspension of operations is scheduled to occur late in the first half of 2009. At that time, the pit will have mined a total of 77M tonnes at an average stripping ratio of 4.5:1. When completed, the pit will measure 1,400 meters long, 550 meters wide and will reach a maximum depth of 170 meters. Over the course of the mine life, 9M tonnes of medium and low grade material will be stockpiled at the Pamour site to be milled after pit mining has been completed. Progressive reclamation work on the waste dumps will include sloping and seeding.
The Pamour Open Pit utilizes a shovel, several loaders and fourteen 785 CAT haul trucks to move the blasted rock. Production drilling is completed by company personnel utilizing D45K and D90K drills. Currently a total of 148 personnel in operations, maintenance and technical services are employed by the pit. Contractors are responsible for all pit blasting. The ore is hauled by the haul trucks from the Pamour Open Pit to the Dome mill for processing.
The number of pit employees will decrease as the Pit approaches closure, at which time a total of approximately 55 operations and maintenance personnel will be retained to move stockpiled material to feed the mill. At current rates, the stockpiles will provide roughly 6 years of the mill's production requirements. Continued reclamation work is planned during this period.
In 2009 the pit is scheduled to mine 4.8M tonnes at an average rate of 34K tonnes per day and a stripping ratio of 1.9:1. Planned crusher feed for 2009 includes 1.1M tonnes from the pit and 1.9M tonnes from the stockpiles. Total ore tonnes delivered to the mill from the pit and stockpile are planned at 3.0M tonnes, producing 124,710 ounces at a combined grade of 1.45 gpt.
The Pamour Open Pit is mining through the Pamour underground's historic underground and pit mine workings. A comprehensive program of probe drilling, geotechnical monitoring, void modeling and controlled blasting is employed to ensure the safety of pit personnel and the integrity of the pit walls.
Pamour Open Pit Mine
