May 20 2015
Lupaka Gold Corp. announces that it has commenced underground mining at the Invicta Gold Project, and will initially mine and transport up to 400 tonnes to a local toll process plant for bulk testing.
PLH S.A.C. Mining Contractors, a well-known and highly regarded Peruvian underground mining contractor, completed mobilization and setup at the Invicta site last week, and commenced underground drilling and blasting. Following completion of mining for process testing, PLH will begin underground development of the safety and ventilation infrastructure.
Minera Lucero S.A.C., a private haulage contractor, will commence transport of the mined material in late May to the toll processor. Minera Lucero was also contracted to improve and upgrade the Invicta access roads to accommodate 15-tonne haul trucks. Road improvement construction will continue for the next several months.
The Company has contracted Procesadora Leslie Semanco S.A.C. ("PLS") in Chimbote, Peru to process the Invicta bulk sample to demonstrate recovery, capacity and cost performance. PLS has committed to provide a minimum of 100 tonnes per day ("tpd") of process capacity for the Invicta Gold Project beginning in July 2015 at terms to be negotiated following receipt of the results of the bulk testing. PLS and the Company are also in discussions as to the possibility of constructing an additional process line dedicated to and optimized for milling Invicta material.
The Company has also identified additional permitted process plants closer to the Invicta minesite, and is in negotiations with those plant owners to secure additional milling capacity.
Mr. Eric Edwards, President and CEO of Lupaka Gold commented, "The Company is working on two process fronts. Firstly to secure tolling capacity that performs well and is immediately available to support start-up of the Invicta operation, and secondly to acquire our own permitted plant and optimize it for Invicta material. The results of this initial toll milling campaign should be available in late June."
The Invicta Gold Project contains a poly-metallic resource primarily comprised of gold with accessory copper and, to a lesser degree, lead, silver and zinc. As previously disclosed, the Company intends to commence production at an initial rate of 100 tpd, scaling up to 350 tpd in 2015. Mining operations will initially target some of the highest grade gold and copper mineralization within the Atenea Vein.
Source: http://www.lupakagold.com/