Turmalina Gold Mine - MTL Complex
Turmalina Gold Mine - (MTL)
Turmalina is an underground mine utilizing the sub-level stoping mining method with rockfill and paste fill as well as some areas of the mine previously using mechanized cut and fill mining method. Ore produced at the Turmalina mine is transported to the adjacent Carbon-In-Leach (“CIL”) processing plant.
Location
The Turmalina mining complex is located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, approximately 130 kilometers northwest of the city of Belo Horizonte.
Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources please click here
| Turmalina Mine Statistics |
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| Underground Operation |
| Mining Method - Cut and Fill |
| Capacity - 2,000 tpd |
Turmalina Deposit
The Turmalina deposits are located in the western part of the Iron Quadrangle, which was the principal region for Brazilian hard rock gold mining until 1983 and accounted for approximately 40% of Brazil’s total gold production. Gold was produced from numerous deposits, primarily in the northern and southeastern parts of the Iron Quadrangle, mostly hosted by Archean or Early Proterozoic-aged banded iron formations (BIF) contained within greenstone belt supracrustal sequences.
The Turmalina deposit is located in the Pitangui area, which is underlain by rocks of Archaean and Proterozoic age. Archaean units include a granitic basement, overlain by the Pitangui Group, a greenstone belt sequence of ultramafic to intermediate volcanic flows and pyroclastics and associated sediments. The Turmalina deposit is hosted by chlorite-amphibole schist and biotite schist units within the Pitangui Group. A sequence of sheared, banded, sulphide iron formation and chert lies within the stratigraphic sequence. The stratigraphy locally strikes to azimuth 135o.
The Turmalina deposits are believed to be typical examples of mesothermal, epigenetic deposits that are enclosed by host rocks that have undergone amphibolite-grade metamorphism. Gold mineralization at Turmalina occurs in fine grains associated with sulphides in sheared schists and BIF sequences. Gold particles are mostly associated with arsenopyrite, quartz, and micas (sericite and biotite).
Turmalina Mine