| Company | Condor |
| Date | 2022-10 |
| Region | Nicaragua |
| Commodities | Gold, Silver |
| Mine Type | Open Pit |
| Throughput | 2,429 tpd |
| Mine Life | 8.2 years |
| Annual Production | 886,512 tonnes ore |
| Status | Development |
Executive Summary
This Feasibility Study outlines the processing plant design for the La India Project, capable of treating 886,512 tonnes of ore per year. The facility utilizes a single-stage open circuit jaw crushing circuit followed by a SAG mill grinding circuit with a pebble crusher. The ore is processed using a Carbon-In-Pulp (CIP) leaching circuit to recover gold and silver, followed by AARL elution and electrowinning to produce doré.
The tailings management system includes high-rate thickeners and an INCO SO2/Air cyanide destruction circuit to meet environmental guidelines. The Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) is designed as an Extreme Hazard structure with a capacity of 8.3 million tonnes, utilizing downstream construction with geomembrane lining. The design basis incorporates seismic and hydrological data specific to the Nicaraguan region.
Key operational parameters include a nominal throughput of 2,429 tonnes per day with a design availability of 75% for crushing and 92% for grinding. The process achieves a corrected gold recovery of 91% and silver recovery of 56%. The plant is designed to operate with a mine life of 8.2 years, with specific attention to geochemical stability and water management to mitigate acid rock drainage risks.
Reports
Website: https://metalsexploration.com/projects/nicaragua/la-india-district/overview/
Report Date: 2022-10
Region: Nicaragua
Project Status: Development
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Throughput: 2,429 tpd
Mine Life: 8.2 years
Mine Type: Open Pit
Ore type:
Technical report and processing history
The following archived source profiles have been consolidated here to preserve the project’s processing history and study context.
La India Project — 2021 Technical Report
La India Project — 2021 Technical Report
| Company | Condor |
| Date | 2021 |
| Region | Nicaragua |
| Commodities | Gold, Silver |
Executive Summary
The 2021 Technical Report for the La India Project by Condor outlines a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) update based on a 2014 Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The report details two alternative process development scenarios for the gold-silver deposit located in Nicaragua. Scenario A proposes a 1.4 Mtpa (4,000 tpd) process plant operated throughout the life of the project, while Scenario B suggests a phased approach starting with 350,000 tpa and expanding to 1.5 Mtpa in year 3. The processing circuit is based on conventional unit operations including primary crushing, semi-autogenous grinding (SAG), and carbon-in-leach (CIL) cyanidation.
The metallurgical studies indicate the ore is clean, hard, and extremely abrasive, with average life-of-mine head grades of 3.0 g/t Au and 5.3 g/t Ag. The plant design incorporates a SAG mill closed circuit with hydrocyclones, achieving a P80 of 75 µm. The CIL circuit utilizes six tanks with air sparging for oxygenation, followed by carbon elution using the AARL method, electrowinning, and smelting to produce doré bars. The process includes a dedicated cyanide destruction circuit using the SO2/Air method to treat tailings before disposal.
Waste management strategies include a valley-fill tailings storage facility (TSF) lined with HDPE to minimize seepage. Geochemical characterization suggests the majority of waste rock has low sulfide content and low acid generation potential, though some lithologies require monitoring for arsenic and chromium leaching. The project remains in the development stage with the 2021 PEA serving as the current technical baseline for future feasibility studies.
Processing Profile
Entities
Concepts
Website: https://metalsexploration.com/projects/nicaragua/la-india-district/overview/
Report Date: 2021
Region: Nicaragua
Project Status:
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Throughput:
Mine Life:
Mine Type:
Ore type:
