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lowed by longer-term prices of $17.50/oz for silver and $1,250/oz for gold. The mine plan does not include 52.1 million silver equivalent ounces of measured and indicated resources and 16.6 million silver equivalent ounces of inferred re- sources that carry a silver equivalent grade 7% higher than the reserves. Coeur intends to work to further extend the mine life through delineation of these resources. Palmarejo's proven and probable reserves currently stand at 9.45 million st grading 4.90 oz/st silver and 0.075 oz/st gold and containing 46.3 million oz of silver and 707,000 oz of gold. Subsequent to its release of the updated Palmarejo technical report, Coeur reported discovery of two new min- eralized zones, Nación and Los Bancos, in the corridor between the established Guadalupe and Independencia deposits, as well as added mineralization at Guadalupe and Independencia. Given these positive exploration results, Coeur anticipates that its 2016 exploration pro- gram at the Palmarejo complex will be about $5 million for expensed drilling and $4 million for capitalized drilling. GoldQuest Launches PFS for Romero Gold-Copper Project GoldQuest Mining has commissioned a prefeasibility study (PFS) and a subse- quent feasibility study of its 100% owned Romero gold-copper project in the Dominican Republic. Work on the PFS began in November and is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2016. The feasibility study will begin immediately upon completion of the PFS, with completion scheduled before the end of 2016. The Romero project is located on GoldQuest's Tireo property in the Central Cordillera of the Dominican Republic near the San Juan provincial capital of San Juan de La Maguana. Indicated min- eral resources stand at 19.4 million mt grading 2.63 g/mt gold, 0.63% copper, 0.29% zinc, and 3.7 g/mt silver, with contained gold totaling 1.65 million oz. The studies will build on a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed in April. The PEA considered develop- ment of a 2,500-mt/d underground mine producing a total of 750,000 oz of gold, 133.8 million lb of copper, and 526,000 oz of silver in concentrate over a nine- year mine life. Mineralization is relatively stratabound and flat lying. The mine would be accessed via a spiral decline. Mining would be based on longhole and drift- and-fill methods, with cemented paste backfill. Ore would be trucked to surface. Pre-production capital expenditure to develop the project is estimated at $143 million, and life-of-mine all-in sustaining production costs are estimated at $572/ gold equivalent oz. Metal recoveries are estimated at 75% for gold and 96.8% for copper to a single concentrate for sale to copper smelters. The concentrate grade is esti- mated at 20% copper and 76.9 g/mt gold, with no perceived penalty elements. The PEA noted that permitting for the Romero project carries some risk due to its proximity to a national park and the San Juan and La Guama rivers. "As proj- ect plans progress, it will be important to not encroach on the park, to complete thorough and scientifically defensible baseline environmental studies, and to conduct an effective engagement and consultation program from the communi- ty to the national level," the PEA stated. Troy Completes Plant Commissioning at Karouni Troy Resources Ltd. has completed com- missioning of the processing plant at its Karouni gold project in north-central Guyana, where construction activities began in February. The mill was the last major project component to be put through the commissioning process, undergoing an extended performance test under full load conditions. Operating at steady state, all pressure and temperature readings were recorded within specified limits. As of late October, the mill was being fed a limited amount of ore to enable pressure and flow-rate adjustment to all systems. The smelting system was pro- gramed and ready to run. All operating personnel, including supervisors and technical staff, were in place. Once final adjustments have been made to the mill and processing circuits, ore feed will be steadily increased toward the plant's nominal design capacity of 80,000 mt/m, with this level of throughput expected to be achieved in early 2016. Karouni mining operations were on- going while plant commissioning was in progress. The run-of-mine stockpile was built 137,000 mt of ore at an average grade of 2.41g/mt, and mining had reached the harder rock in the transition zone of one of the pits. Karouni development was based on a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed in January 2014. Mine devel- opment will include two open pits and one underground mine feeding a conven- tional carbon-in-leach gold plant. The PEA assumes 5.2 million mt of material will be processed at an average grade of 4.13 g/mt to recover 633,000 oz of gold over a seven-year mine life. Initial capital costs to develop the Karouni project came in at about $86.6 million. Life-of-mine all-in cash costs have been estimated at $805/oz. DECEMBER 2015 • E&MJ; 19 www.e-mj.com REGIONAL NEWS - LATIN AMERICA Geologists looking southwest across the Escandalosa Zone at GoldQuest's Romero project in the Dominican Republic.