Golden improvements continue at Cortez By MARIANNE KOBAK McKOWN Mining Quarterly Editor
Ross Andreson/Mining Quarterly
Les McNutt, Cortez’s process project supervisor, talks about the pump of the Cell 4 tailings storage facility.
CRESCENT VALLEY — Barrick Gold Corp.’s Cortez Mine produced higher than expected grades of ore and hopes to extend the site’s life through improvements. In the first quarter, Cortez produced 340,000 ounces at a total cash cost of $177 per ounce because of those higher grades, according to the company’s quarterly report. Cortez’s tailings storage facility is at capacity and the mine hopes to have its new facility approved by the first week of June, said Les McNutt, Cortez’s process project supervisor. The new tailings facility is called Cell 4 and will hold about 12 million tons. Phase 1 of the project should last about 2.4 years, McNutt said. Cell 4 construction began in December 2011, said Casey Lee, project manager. The facility is nearly complete, and it needs final approval from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection. “We used 5 million cubic yards of dirt and gravel to build it and 7 million square feet of liner,” Lee said. “It’s just over a year we’ve been working on the project. There are 43 miles worth of pipe in tailings (facility).” The new facility should extend the
Ross Andreson/Mining Quarterly
Ross Andreson/Mining Quarterly
Barrick Gold Corp.’s Cortez Open Pit Manager Mark Rantapaa talks about the site’s new tailings storage facility.
Casey Lee, project manager for Barrick Gold Corp.’s Cortez Mine, stands near Cell 4’s 300-horsepower pump.
70 MINING QUARTERLY, Elko, Nevada SUMMER 2013