The Cerro Vanguardia Mine is a
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
and
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
mine located 150 km north west of
Puerto San Julián
Puerto San Julián, also known historically as Port St. Julian, is a natural harbour in Patagonia in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina located at . In the days of sailing ships it formed a stopping point, south of Puerto Deseado (''Port Desir ...
, in the
Santa Cruz province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. It is majority-owned and operated by
AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global gold mining company. It was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. It is now a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents. The company is listed ...
, which holds a 92.5% interest in the min
The remaining 7.5% are owned by ''Formicruz'' (''Fomento Minero de Santa Cruz Sociedad del Estado''), a company owned by the province of Santa Cruz.
[AngloGold Ashanti: Country report Argentina]
accessed: 14 July 2010
In 2008, the mine contributed 3% to the company's annual production and employs in excess of 1,000 people. The Cerro Vanguardia mine consists of a number of small open pits.
the mine lies in
Deseado Massif, an area known for its valuable gold deposits.
History
The gold deposit at Cerro Vanguardia was first discovered in 1976 and, in 1987, mining group
Pérez Companc S.A. formed a mineral exploration joint venture with ''AMSA'',
Anglo American’s South American holding company.
Cerro Vanguardia Gold and Silver Mine, Argentina
mining-technology.com, accessed: 14 July 2010
AngloGold, predecessor of AngloGold Ashanti, acquired a 46.23% interest in the project in 1998–99, and an additional 46.25%, the Pérez Companc stake, in July 2002, doubling its interest to 92.5%. AngloGold Ashanti owns the right to exploit the
deposit for 40 years based on the ''Usufruct Agreement'', signed in
December 1996. Cerro Vanguardia, which was constructed at a total cost of US$ 270 million, was commissioned in late 1998.[AngloGold annual Report 2003]
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 14 July 2010
The mine suffered a difficult year in 2008, when production fell by 25% while the cash cost more than doubled.
Gold production
Recent production figures of the mine were:
References
External links
Formicruz website
AngloGold Ashanti: Country report Argentina
{{AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti
Gold mines in Argentina
Mines in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
Open-pit mines
Silver mines in Argentina
Surface mines in Argentina