The Hycroft gold mine is located in the Sulfur Mining district, 54 miles west of Winnemucca in Humboldt County, Nevada. The mine encompasses approximately 61,389 acres, including both patented and unpatented claims. While in production under previous owners (1987-1998), Hycroft produced over one million ounces of gold using an open pit heap leaching process.

 

Hycroft General Description
 

Hycroft operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Currently, open pit mining of the Brimstone and Cut-5 heap leach mineralization is by simple drill, blast and truck haulage of ore to the north heap leach pad complex. Lower grade ore is placed as run-of-mine ore and higher grade ore will be crushed using large three-stage crushing plant. Current performance of the heap leach pad shows run-of-mine recoveries of 56.6% for gold and 12% for silver. Metallurgical testing suggests crushing approximately 32% of the oxide material will improve overall recoveries to an average of 62% for gold and 16% for silver, though this may vary slightly depending on the type of material crushed. Solution from the heap leach pad is processed through the current 5,000 gpm capacity Merrill-Crowe plant and 6,500 gpm capacity carbon-in-column circuit. A 21,500 gpm capacity Merrill Crowe circuit will be operational in late 2013, allowing for all solution to be processed through that plant. The metals are further processed in the refinery to create doré bars, which are sold. 

 

The Company has been increasing the mining rate over the last two years with the addition of larger scale mining equipment including Komatsu 320-ton haul trucks and Hitachi EX5500 shovels. In 2013, two wire rope shovels were brought into operation, one of which has double the bucket capacity of an EX5500. 

 

Gold and silver sales at Hycroft are expected to increase in 2013 to approximately 180,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold and 0.9 million to 1.1 million ounces of silver. 

 

Allied Nevada Gold Corp.

9790 Gateway Drive 

Suite 200 

Reno, NV 89521 

 

Phone: (775) 358-4455

Fax: (775) 358 4458