RNS 219 May 2008 14:57
Operations within the Mine, whilst still experiencing some inevitable "teething
issues", have now reached a steady-state condition. Ore from both the
underground and open pit operations is now being supplied to the mill on a daily
basis. Alongside the commencement of production at Vatukoula, the Company has
also recruited an experienced operational management team to complement the
existing management in Fiji.
The JORC-compliant gold resources at the Mine total 16.84 million tonnes at an
average grade of 9.49 grams of gold per tonne or 5.15 million ounces of gold.
Currently, the Mine employs approximately 700 personnel.
David Lenigas, River Diamond's Executive Director commented:
"This pour of 641 ounces of fine gold is the culmination of a lot of dedicated
work by the entire River Diamonds team in recommissioning the Mine in a
relatively short period of time and bedding down the entire process into steady
state operations. I am delighted with this achievement and would like to thank
all involved.
River Diamonds now looks forward to continuous gold operations from the Mine in
what can reasonably be described as a very positive gold market. The Mine is an
entirely unhedged operation.
The name of the Fijian operating company will be changed from Westech Gold to
Vatukoula Gold Mines Limited over the coming weeks to more adequately reflect
the local significance of this project to the Fijian economy.