Amador County – Sutter Gold Mining Incorporated announced Monday it has received a permit to construct buildings for its new mill complex at the Lincoln Mine Project near Sutter Creek.
Amador County Building Department issued the permit March 1, which Sutter Gold Mining President, CEO and Director, Dr. Leanne M. Baker, called “a critical milestone for our company.”
Baker said: “Our site is completely winterized, our Mine Safety and Health Administration training program is in place, and we intend to begin excavation work for the foundation in the next several weeks.” As the mill foundation and building construction proceeds through summer and fall, Sutter Gold Mining plans to “work concurrently to prepare and develop the underground stopes for mining.”
Sutter Gold plans to mine 150 tons a day, seven days a week, while the mill will handle 210 tons per day, running five days a week. A 30-hole exploration program is under way, Baker said, and “five holes have been completed and await assay results.”
The company awarded foundation construction work for the mill, shop and staff services buildings to DG Granade Incorporated of Shingle Springs. Based in El Dorado County, Granade will use several local suppliers and subcontractors including Amador Transit Mix, Short Circuit Electric, JM & Sons plumbing and Allbright Steel Services. Site grading is being done by Doug Veerkamp General Engineering.
The completed Tailings Processing Area is currently being used for storage and staging. Purchased mill equipment is being evaluated and refurbished. Four air compressors were delivered in January. A “regrind ball mill has been disassembled for inspection,” Baker said.
Staff has already replaced parts in a primary jaw crusher. Coarse ore bin belt feeders and flotation cells are being rebuilt in Denver, Colorado for delivery in April and July. The company expects its primary rod mill this month.
In January, Sutter Gold Mining received two air permits from Amador Air District, including a comprehensive, site-wide “Authority to Construct,” and another for installation of back-up power.
The company’s Lincoln Project “will represent the first commercial underground gold mining operation on the historic Mother Lode in more than 50 years,” Baker said. The project is based on a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment in 2001 that said yield is expected to average “23,000 ounces per year at a cash cost (to produce) of about $700 per ounce before royalties.”
Sutter Gold Mining currently controls 3.6 miles of the Mother Lode of Amador County, with 90 percent of the property still unexplored. Properties include seven historic mines with significant historic gold production totaling 3.5 million ounces or 27 percent of the historic gold production from the 120-mile long Mother Lode Gold Belt, which produced 13 million ounces of gold.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
