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36 www.resourceworld.com a u g u s t / s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 miNiNg W hat could be more appealing than owning your own pro- ducing gold mine in Peru? How about adding an operating gold processing mill? Montan Mining Corp. [MNY-TSXV; S5GM-FSE] of Vancouver, BC, recently acquired a toll mill in the Chala gold mining district in the Arequipa Region of southern Peru. While the Mollehuaca plant is already processing 2.5 tons per day (tpd) from Montan's own Eladium gold mine (grading 15-30 g/t gold), it is also set up to be used as a toll mill for other mining con- cerns. Local mining operations such as artisanal miners can bring loads of gold-bearing rock material (mill feed) to be processed for a fee. The mill was designed for a capacity of 150 tpd, using the CIP (carbon in pulp, with cyanide) method, and also includes equip- ment for a future flotation circuit (enabling processing of copper in addition to precious metals such as gold and silver). Acquisition of producing assets of Goldsmith Resources SAC has started Montan Mining toward achieving its goals of upping the output at Eladium Gold Mine, fully expanding to the poten- tial 150 tpd capacity of the Mollehuaca mill, and increasing its customer base among the thousands of small-scale miners cur- rently digging for gold in the area. The Mollehuaca gold mill "will be cash-flowing in July 2015" according to Montan CEO, Ian Graham, in a recent interview in Vancouver. Montan has been watching the success of other Canadian public companies with toll mills in Peru, such as Dynacor, Inca One and Anthem. In 2012, Peruvian government legislation encouraged informal artisanal miners to "formalize" for reasons of health and safety, positive environmental benefits and tax revenue. Informal use of mercury to recover gold from rock has been devastating to the environment and compromis- ing to health. With environmentally permitted mills, modern safeguards can improve community welfare. Whereas 22 private (unregulated) mills formerly operated in the Chala area, now only six (including Mollehuaca) are permitted, so many potential cus- tomers remain even though the larger mills already have hundreds of steady state suppliers of mill feed. "It is a well-established busi- ness with protocols already in place," says Graham. Montan Mining has filled its ranks with local and international expertise. For instance, Luis F. Zapata, the Executive Chairman of Montan, is a dual Canadian-Peruvian citizen fluent in both English and Spanish. Ian Graham, CEO, has more than 20 years of experience in mining exploration and development. Michel Robert worked for Pan American as well as in Teck's metallur- gical department. With the assay labs located within the mill, it is important to have this kind of technical expertise. And Jose Garcia, who recently joined Montan, has been helping hundreds of artisanal miners in Peru to formalize, and will be reaching out to miners in the area to promote the toll mill. In addition, the company expects that community relations will be facilitated by Jenna Hardy, PGeo. As Ian Graham emphasizes, "This is a people business – you source your mill feed from artisanal miners and small mines like our own Eladium. Although Montan is starting out modestly, we MonTan MInIng goes tolling for gold in Peru by Jennifer S. Getsinger, PhD, PGeo The Mollehuaca gold processing facility in southern Peru. Photo courtesy Montan Mining Corp.