INMINSUR is a company producing gold, silver and copper and operates the Antapite and Ishihuinca Mine.
ANTAPITE
LOCATION
Province of Huaytará, department of Huancavelica, at the head of the Ica and Grande rivers at an elevation of 3,300 m.a.s.l.
ACCESSIBLITY
From the town of Los Aquijes in the city of Ica (km 307 – Panamericana Sur) from where the unsurfaced section of the 130 km road towards Tingue – Córdova – Antapite begins.
MAIN PRODUCTS (in order or importance):
GOLD
SILVER
TYPE OF OPERATION AND MINES
Underground in the Zorro Rojo and Reyna mines.
EXPLOITATION METHOD
Overhand cut and fill, adjusting to the deposit’s geomechanic conditions.
Sub vertical and horizontal drilling, depending on the type of area.
Conventional mining methods, using jackleg drills.
Controlled blasting.
Timbering and splitsets are employed for supporting the excavations.
Pneumatic shovels, winches and U 35 mine cars are used for hauling and transporting ore.
Hoisting is carried out through two shafts in the Zorro Rojo mine.
PLANT OPERATION
Final product: doré bars Treatment capacity: 450 MT per day.
Crushing circuit followed by storage in a 500 MT capacity fines bin.
Grinding occurs in a primary 9’x13’ Allis Chalmers ball mill and in a secondary 8’x10’ Magenta mill.
Gravimetry uses two Falcon centrifuge concentrators.
The gravimetric concentrate feeds the in line leach reactor. The gold and silver-rich solutions pass through electrolytic cells to produce the electrolytic precipitate which is then smelted.
Fines obtained from the milling circuit enter a 60´x 12´ thickener from where the thickened pulp enters the cyanidation circuit with four 30’x 30’ agitation cells.
The rich solutions enter the adsorption circuit with activated carbon; the rich carbon is removed from the adsorption circuit and taken to the pressurized adsorption stage. The rich solutions are passed through electrolytic cells, and from there, the obtained precipitate is dried, retorted and smelted to obtain doré bars.
Cyanide is destroyed by using high-cost acid and then sent to the tailings pond which is covered by a geomembrane. The clear water is recirculated to a number of storage tanks to be reused in the processing plant.
FACILITIES AT ANTAPITE
HEALTH: 1 Medical outpost. HOUSING: 8 employee housing modules (Machucancha Camp). ELECTRIC ENERGY: Power is supplied by the National Interconnected Electric System and by the mine’s own 950 kW rated Sulzer motor generator.
SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
Community of Vichuri and San Pedro de Taracachi
Community of Laramarca
Community of Ocoyo
Community of San Pedro de Ocobamba
Community of Ayamarca
CERTIFICATIONS
NOSA INTEGRATED SYSTEM, November 22, 2003 ISO 14001 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, September 25, 2003.
