VIETNAM
THAILAND
LA OS
CAMBODIA
10°
100°
20°
LA OS
AM
CAMBODIA
10°
CHALLENGERCHALLENGER
30°
35°
140°
135°
130°
VIC
QLD
NSW
NT
WA
Adelaide
BOWDENS
SILVER
BOWDENS
SILVER
Newcastle
Sydney
Dubbo
Mudgee
30°
35°
150°
145°
QLD
TA S
VIC
SA
70°
50°
20°
30°
40°
3
COPIAPO
NUEVA
ESPERANZA
COPIAPO
NUEVA
ESPERANZA
Santiago
La Serena
Antofagasta
Chañaral
ARGENTINA
BOLIVIA
PERU
0 300100 200
Kilometres
Highway
Freeway
Power lines
Hydro power dam
Thermal power station
Khon Kaen
Kh
KhCHATREECHATREE
Chiang
Mai
Bangkok
Chumphon
Phuket
CHALLENGER
GOLD MINE
CHALLENGER
GOLD MINE
Labyrinth
Bulgunnia
Barton West
Cundeelee
(Tropicana Belt)
Blue Dam
Calingiri
Wongan Hills
Kukerin
Bullock Pool
Nanicup Bridge
Holleton West
Golden Point
Northling
Bryah
Perenjori
Yalla Burra
Barton Central
Tenements Area
28
www.kingsgate.com.au
Projects Report
Nueva Esperanza  
Project
Chile
Summary
The Nueva Esperanza Project is 100% owned  
by Kingsgate since February 2012. Nueva 
Esperanza is located in the Maricunga Gold Belt 
near Copiapó, a regional mining centre in 
Northern Chile. The silver-rich mineralisation is 
hosted by the Esperanza high-sulphidation 
epithermal alteration system associated with 
the Cerros Bravos volcanic complex.
The project consists of three well-defined miner -
alised deposits and a number of undeveloped 
exploration targets. The main deposits are 
Arqueros, Chimberos and Teterita. Arqueros was 
previously mined on a limited scale by under-
ground methods and Chimberos was exploited 
as an open pit mine, delivering about 40 million 
ounces of silver in 1998/99. All three deposits 
currently have a combined Mineral Resources of 
about 93 million ounces of silver equivalent or 
1.6 million ounces of gold equivalent (EQ60)1.
A feasibility study for a decision to mine the 
Arqueros portion of Nueva Esperanza was 
completed in late 2012, demonstrating that open 
pit mining at two million tonnes per year and 
processing by milling and agitation leaching in 
cyanide was technically feasible. Work remained 
to integrate the Teterita and Chimberos deposits 
into the project, as well as to test lower cost 
options for processing. Continued metallurgical 
testwork has shown that mineralisation from all 
three deposits by heap leaching is technically and 
economically feasible and the preferred alterna-
tive for development.
Environmental approvals to commence 
construction and mining at Nueva Esperanza 
were granted in July 2013 for the original 
Arqueros project. Work is underway to modify 
and update the environmental assessment to 
incorporate the heap leach process.
u
1  Equivalence is based on gold/silver price ratio 
of 60. Gold equivalence = gold content plus 
(silver content divided by 60), whereas Silver 
equivalent silver content plus (gold content 
multiplied by 60).