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The adoption of resin in the gold leaching process guarantees much more sustainability to the ore processing process and Equinox Gold invests in innovation in its newest mine inaugurated in the state of Bahia.
Equinox Gold inaugurated Mineração Santa Luz, located in the municipality of Santaluz, Bahia, last week and, for this Tuesday (12/07), invests in sustainability in the production of gold in the mine. The company adopted the use of resin in the ore leaching process and, with that, it now guarantees a much more ecological processing at the mining, which is the mining company's new bet for the state of Bahia.
Santaluz gold mine is inaugurated with innovative processes to ensure more sustainability in ore leaching
Equinox Gold continues to expand its presence in Brazilian mining and, after concluding an investment plan of around US$ 103 million, opened, last week, Mineração Santa Luz, located in the municipality of Santaluz.
In addition to having a new ore exploration plant, the company also now has the first industrial plant to adopt the use of resin in the leaching process, ensuring more sustainability in the production chain.
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The project was very beneficial for the state of Bahia, since it directly or indirectly generated around 1,2 jobs for residents of the region. In addition, Equinox Gold's millionaire investment ensured that the mine was ready on time.
Now, the company is expected to start commercial operations around the end of July, and the production target this year is between 70 and 90 thousand ounces of the metal, currently highly sought after in the international market.
Thus, Equinox Gold's Vice President of Institutional Relations and Licensing, Cesar Torresini, commented on the mine's production potential, which is forecast for 100 ounces of gold, and said: "We believe that Mineração Santa Luz will be a game changer of waters, in terms of engineering and technology to optimize the gold recovery process, through the resin. The Brazilian team faced the challenges presented, especially due to a special characteristic of the ore in the region, which is carbonaceous matter, studied and tested alternatives until reaching significant results in this regard”.
Use of resin for leaching gold is Equinox Gold's great differential in its new ore production plant in Bahia
During initial tests to verify the best techniques for producing gold at the mine in Bahia, Equinox Gold used activated carbon to formation of sulfide in the leaching process, but the results were not being satisfactory. In this way, the company began using a pilot project that adopted resin instead of activated carbon, which guaranteed the mining company the expected results.
And, with the adoption of this alternative in the leaching process, the Mineração Santa Luz mine manages to obtain gold with an average purity of 98%. But this is not the only benefit of the activated carbon alternative, since the company ensured more sustainability in the process, since the coal was sent to the regeneration furnace, releasing carbon into the environment, while the resin can be reused up to 15 times.
Thus, Equinox Gold continues to invest in the sustainable expansion of its production in Brazil and, currently, four units in operation in the country, contributing to the goal of the Canadian mining company, which is to reach the mark of one million ounces of gold produced per year .
