LONDON (Alliance News) - Serabi Gold PLC Monday said its Palito mine recorded its best monthly production level in September and that underground mining has commenced at its Sao Chico mine, both based in the Tapajos region of Para State, Northern Brazil.
Serabi said Palito produced 32,450 tonnes of ore in the third quarter of 2014, producing 5,002 ounces of gold, up 54% from the second quarter. Of this, 2,260 was produced in September, it said. The site has produced 51,190 tonnes of ore over the first three quarters of 2014 and is now at planned production levels, it said.
Palito has a 20,000 tonne stockpile of ore, with a grade of over 7 grammes per tonne of gold that is ready to be processed. It also has a 55,000 tonne stockpile of tailings with gold grades of around 2.25 grammes per tonne of gold, which will be treated through the company's Carbon in Pulp plant over the next six to eight months, said Serabi in a statement.
The Carbon in Pulp plant, which extracts the gold, is now fully commissioned and is expected to produce its first gold in the middle of October, it added. Carbon in Pulp is an extraction technique for recovery of gold, using activated carbon.
"At Palito, I am delighted to report our best month of production yet and with over 5,000 ounces of gold produced in the third quarter, 2,260 of which came in September alone, the plant is now operating very well," said Chief Executive Mike Hodgson. "With the Carbon in Pulp plant now operational, we anticipate gold recoveries increasing to over 90%."
At its Sao Chico well, the company has discovered gold bearing veins and has applied for a new exploration license to the west of the license area. Sao Chico has all its initial infrastructure, workforce and camp buildings in place, said Serabi.
"At Sao Chico, we have the equally positive news that the underground development mining is now underway and, with the mine portal now established, the decline ramp is being driven underground towards the first ore zone, which we anticipate reaching during November," added Hodgson.
Serabi shares were up 2.0% to 4.97 pence per share Monday morning.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Serabi (SRB)