Highland Gold Announced Trading Update for Second Half of 2011
OREANDA-NEWS. February 7,
Process plant recoveries improved slightly over that of the first half of the year and can be attributed to process grinding and gravity circuit upgrades that were concluded during the year. New mobile equipment introduced during the year has provided an opportunity to retire several older units from the existing operations which is expected to help maintain productivity levels as well as reduce maintenance costs. Improvements to the previously stated resources and reserves were the result of an independent JORC compliant audit which was concluded mid-year. This saw a 190% improvement to MNV's proven and probable reserves (stated at 31 December 2010).
MNV |
|
H2 2011 |
H1 2011 |
H2 2010 |
2011 |
2010 |
Mine development |
|
|
|
|
| |
Waste stripping |
mі |
1,562,903 |
790,897 |
1,220,558 |
2,353,800 |
1,933,948 |
Underground development |
metres |
2,816 |
2,915 |
3,098 |
5,731 |
6,725 |
Mining |
|
|
|
|
| |
Total ore mined |
tonnes |
665,863 |
606,440 |
642,878 |
1,272,303 |
1,192,896 |
Average grade |
g/t |
4.0 |
4.6 |
5.1 |
4.3 |
5.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
tonnes |
629,586 |
499,082 |
622,604 |
1,128,668 |
1,144,459 |
Average grade |
g/t |
3.9 |
5.2 |
5.4 |
4.5 |
5.3 |
Recovery rate |
% |
88.2 |
87.7 |
87.4 |
88.0 |
87.6 |
Gold produced |
oz |
71,938 |
71,926 |
94,585 |
143,864 |
170,356 |
Novoshirokinskoye (Novo) - Zabaikalsky region,
H2 2011 production resulted in
Novo 100% |
H2 2011 |
H1 2011 |
H2 2010 |
2011 |
2010 | |
Mine development |
|
|
|
|
| |
Underground development |
metres |
3,501 |
3,614 |
3,221 |
7,115 |
6,364 |
Mining |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
tonnes |
220,390 |
218,978 |
223,989 |
439,368 |
345,737 |
Average grade * |
g/t |
5.1 |
6.6 |
6.5 |
5.9 |
6.4 |
Processing |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
tonnes |
220,390 |
217,953 |
233,752 |
438,343 |
397,075 |
Average grade * |
g/t |
5.1 |
6.6 |
6.3 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
Recovery rate * |
% |
82.4 |
84.9 |
81.0 |
83.5 |
79.5 |
Gold Produced * |
oz |
29,716 |
39,214 |
38,662 |
68,930 |
59,403 |
*calculated approximate Au equivalent
DEVELOPMENT AND EXPLORATION PROJECTS
Belaya Gora -
During the second half of the year select oxide ore continued to be trucked to MNV for toll processing. Efforts in grade control helped to improve delivered ore quality which resulted in
|
|
H2 2011 |
H1 2011 |
H2 2010 |
2011 |
2010 |
Mining |
|
|
|
|
| |
Waste stripping |
mі |
87,390 |
202,310 |
226,000 |
289,660 |
226,000 |
|
tonnes |
162,661 |
255,319 |
76,000 |
417,984 |
76,000 |
Average grade |
g/t |
2.1 |
2.1 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
1.7 |
|
tonnes |
30,926 |
30,460 |
10,971 |
61,386 |
10,971 |
Average grade |
g/t |
5.5 |
2.6 |
3.3 |
4.0 |
3.3 |
Recovery rate |
% |
87.3 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
Gold produced |
oz |
4,754 |
2,191 |
1,000 |
6,945 |
1,000 |
Taseevskoye - Zabaikalsky region,
The Company continued to progress with its infill drilling programme introduced earlier in 2011 which is expected to provide the confirmation of ore block characteristics contained in the existing model as well as to provide fully representative samples from across all zones of the ore body that are required for process testwork. Difficult drilling conditions have been encountered which has slowed the drill programme considerably. This will require drilling shortfalls to be carried over into 2012. Only after the drill programme has been successfully concluded will the Company be in a position to finalise all planned test work and mine designs to the level of a definitive feasibility study.
EXPLORATION
Mnogovershinnoye (MNV) -
At MNV, positive results were achieved from a systematic near-mine surface diamond core drilling programme which continues to support the potential of increasing resources for future open-pit exploitation. In 2011 approximately
For 2012 the near-mine exploration efforts at MNV will include substantial drilling programmes focussing on the Quiet and Watershed targets whose resource potential the Company is committed to fully unlock.
Unkurtash -
At Unkurtash, the Company successfully completed a large exploration programme at three adjoining prospects, - Unkurtash, Sarytube and Karatube, including a total of more than
The Company plans to proceed with engineering studies for the development of a conventional open-pit mine and processing plant while continuing significant exploration drilling and underground development throughout 2012 with the objective of substantially enlarging the current mineral resource base both at depth and along strike.
Lyubov - Zabaikalsky region,
At Lyubov, following the completion of a resource conversion drilling programme and other relevant technical requirements earlier in the year, in H2 2011 the Company compiled and submitted to regulatory authorities a prefeasibility study (TEO) for the Evgraf target. Accordingly, at the Evgraf target alone, a C1+C2 category reserve of approximately 0.5 Moz contained in 8.35 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.88 g/t is to be considered for reserve registration by the State Committee on Reserves of the Russian Federation (GKZ). Approval is expected in Q3
Blagodatnoye -
At Blagodatnoye, the Company completed
In 2012 the Company has allocated
Belaya Gora Flanks -
The Belaya Gora Flanks license encapsulates the Belaya Gora deposit and represents near-mine exploration potential to increase the open-pit resource base for the Belaya Gora Project. During H2 2011 the Company continued with its trenching and diamond drilling programme at several gold prospects historically known to be located within the license area. For the year a total of
Qualified Persons Statement: Mr. Werner Klemens, Head of Exploration at Highland Gold has reviewed and verified the information contained in this release with respect to drilling and resource / reserves matters. Mr. Klemens holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the
HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT
The provision of a safe working environment, management of production risks, training of personnel and improvement of personal responsibility for site safety, remains of paramount importance to the Company. The resultant lost time incident ("LTI") rate (the LTI rate is the number of lost time incidents for every 200,000 man hours worked) was
Environmental compliance continued to be in good standing with regulatory authorities. In particular, environmental audit procedures for all sites of the Company were implemented during the year. Environmental safety requirement training was provided to 68 employees at MNV, Belaya Gora and Taseevskoye. The Company continued its efforts towards implementation of an accredited environmental management system (ISO 14001 compliant) Group wide with final compliance auditing targeted by YE 2012. To this end 52 employees received internal audit training at MNV and RDM, while an additional 32 MNV employees were provided with environmental risks and assessments training developed by an external environmental consultant.
OREANDA-NEWS. February 7,
Process plant recoveries improved slightly over that of the first half of the year and can be attributed to process grinding and gravity circuit upgrades that were concluded during the year. New mobile equipment introduced during the year has provided an opportunity to retire several older units from the existing operations which is expected to help maintain productivity levels as well as reduce maintenance costs. Improvements to the previously stated resources and reserves were the result of an independent JORC compliant audit which was concluded mid-year. This saw a 190% improvement to MNV's proven and probable reserves (stated at 31 December 2010).
MNV |
|
H2 2011 |
H1 2011 |
H2 2010 |
2011 |
2010 |
Mine development |
|
|
|
|
| |
Waste stripping |
mі |
1,562,903 |
790,897 |
1,220,558 |
2,353,800 |
1,933,948 |
Underground development |
metres |
2,816 |
2,915 |
3,098 |
5,731 |
6,725 |
Mining |
|
|
|
|
| |
Total ore mined |
tonnes |
665,863 |
606,440 |
642,878 |
1,272,303 |
1,192,896 |
Average grade |
g/t |
4.0 |
4.6 |
5.1 |
4.3 |
5.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
tonnes |
629,586 |
499,082 |
622,604 |
1,128,668 |
1,144,459 |
Average grade |
g/t |
3.9 |
5.2 |
5.4 |
4.5 |
5.3 |
Recovery rate |
% |
88.2 |
87.7 |
87.4 |
88.0 |
87.6 |
Gold produced |
oz |
71,938 |
71,926 |
94,585 |
143,864 |
170,356 |
Novoshirokinskoye (Novo) - Zabaikalsky region,
H2 2011 production resulted in
Novo 100% |
H2 2011 |
H1 2011 |
H2 2010 |
2011 |
2010 | |
Mine development |
|
|
|
|
| |
Underground development |
metres |
3,501 |
3,614 |
3,221 |
7,115 |
6,364 |
Mining |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
tonnes |
220,390 |
218,978 |
223,989 |
439,368 |
345,737 |
Average grade * |
g/t |
5.1 |
6.6 |
6.5 |
5.9 |
6.4 |
Processing |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
tonnes |
220,390 |
217,953 |
233,752 |
438,343 |
397,075 |
Average grade * |
g/t |
5.1 |
6.6 |
6.3 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
Recovery rate * |
% |
82.4 |
84.9 |
81.0 |
83.5 |
79.5 |
Gold Produced * |
oz |
29,716 |
39,214 |
38,662 |
68,930 |
59,403 |
*calculated approximate Au equivalent
DEVELOPMENT AND EXPLORATION PROJECTS
Belaya Gora -
During the second half of the year select oxide ore continued to be trucked to MNV for toll processing. Efforts in grade control helped to improve delivered ore quality which resulted in
|
|
H2 2011 |
H1 2011 |
H2 2010 |
2011 |
2010 |
Mining |
|
|
|
|
| |
Waste stripping |
mі |
87,390 |
202,310 |
226,000 |
289,660 |
226,000 |
|
tonnes |
162,661 |
255,319 |
76,000 |
417,984 |
76,000 |
Average grade |
g/t |
2.1 |
2.1 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
1.7 |
|
tonnes |
30,926 |
30,460 |
10,971 |
61,386 |
10,971 |
Average grade |
g/t |
5.5 |
2.6 |
3.3 |
4.0 |
3.3 |
Recovery rate |
% |
87.3 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
87.3 |
Gold produced |
oz |
4,754 |
2,191 |
1,000 |
6,945 |
1,000 |
Taseevskoye - Zabaikalsky region,
The Company continued to progress with its infill drilling programme introduced earlier in 2011 which is expected to provide the confirmation of ore block characteristics contained in the existing model as well as to provide fully representative samples from across all zones of the ore body that are required for process testwork. Difficult drilling conditions have been encountered which has slowed the drill programme considerably. This will require drilling shortfalls to be carried over into 2012. Only after the drill programme has been successfully concluded will the Company be in a position to finalise all planned test work and mine designs to the level of a definitive feasibility study.
EXPLORATION
Mnogovershinnoye (MNV) -
At MNV, positive results were achieved from a systematic near-mine surface diamond core drilling programme which continues to support the potential of increasing resources for future open-pit exploitation. In 2011 approximately
For 2012 the near-mine exploration efforts at MNV will include substantial drilling programmes focussing on the Quiet and Watershed targets whose resource potential the Company is committed to fully unlock.
Unkurtash -
At Unkurtash, the Company successfully completed a large exploration programme at three adjoining prospects, - Unkurtash, Sarytube and Karatube, including a total of more than
The Company plans to proceed with engineering studies for the development of a conventional open-pit mine and processing plant while continuing significant exploration drilling and underground development throughout 2012 with the objective of substantially enlarging the current mineral resource base both at depth and along strike.
Lyubov - Zabaikalsky region,
At Lyubov, following the completion of a resource conversion drilling programme and other relevant technical requirements earlier in the year, in H2 2011 the Company compiled and submitted to regulatory authorities a prefeasibility study (TEO) for the Evgraf target. Accordingly, at the Evgraf target alone, a C1+C2 category reserve of approximately 0.5 Moz contained in 8.35 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.88 g/t is to be considered for reserve registration by the State Committee on Reserves of the Russian Federation (GKZ). Approval is expected in Q3
Blagodatnoye -
At Blagodatnoye, the Company completed
In 2012 the Company has allocated
Belaya Gora Flanks -
The Belaya Gora Flanks license encapsulates the Belaya Gora deposit and represents near-mine exploration potential to increase the open-pit resource base for the Belaya Gora Project. During H2 2011 the Company continued with its trenching and diamond drilling programme at several gold prospects historically known to be located within the license area. For the year a total of
Qualified Persons Statement: Mr. Werner Klemens, Head of Exploration at Highland Gold has reviewed and verified the information contained in this release with respect to drilling and resource / reserves matters. Mr. Klemens holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the
HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT
The provision of a safe working environment, management of production risks, training of personnel and improvement of personal responsibility for site safety, remains of paramount importance to the Company. The resultant lost time incident ("LTI") rate (the LTI rate is the number of lost time incidents for every 200,000 man hours worked) was
Environmental compliance continued to be in good standing with regulatory authorities. In particular, environmental audit procedures for all sites of the Company were implemented during the year. Environmental safety requirement training was provided to 68 employees at MNV, Belaya Gora and Taseevskoye. The Company continued its efforts towards implementation of an accredited environmental management system (ISO 14001 compliant) Group wide with final compliance auditing targeted by YE 2012. To this end 52 employees received internal audit training at MNV and RDM, while an additional 32 MNV employees were provided with environmental risks and assessments training developed by an external environmental consultant.
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