Last checked at 14 Apr 2010 08:07
Hambledon Mining plc("Hambledon" or "the Company")
PRODUCTION UPDATE
The Company reports its production for the three months from 1 January 2010 to 31 March 2010.
| January | February | March | Total | ||||||
| Milled tonnes (dry) | 28,887 | 37,618 | 37,228 | 103,733 | |||||
| Gold grade (g/t) | 1.01 | 0.75 | 1.14 | 0.96 | |||||
| Contained gold (gms) | 29,147 | 28,213 | 42,440 | 99,800 | |||||
| Contained gold (oz) | 937 | 907 | 1,364 | 3,209 | |||||
| Gold recovery % | 80.6 % | 80.7% | 80.1% | 80.4% | |||||
| Recovered gold (oz) | 755 | 732 | 1,092 | 2,579 | |||||
| Recovered silver (oz) | 2,251 | 1,967 | 2,213 | 6,430 | |||||
Investors will be aware that this winter period in Kazakhstan has been particularly severe. Although temperatures below minus 20 are normal for this time of year, in the first quarter of 2010 there were only 16 days when temperatures were above minus 30. Even when temperatures did rise, snow storms and blizzards made mining extremely hazardous. In these extreme conditions, nothing works very well: mechanical equipment tends to break down and even winter grade diesel freezes. It was often impossible for the workforce to operate outdoors. We tried very hard to keep operations going, but there were occasions when to have continued operating would have been dangerous and uneconomic. A total of 31 full days mining were lost to weather in the quarter plus 20 full days of crushing. The consequent stop-start nature of the operation played havoc with output, and although the process plant worked well, it was only able to process what was put into it. All in all it has been a very tough quarter.
Towards the end March, however, weather conditions began to improve and the mine and process plant have operated well. The many changes made to the plant over the last 12 months now mean that when conditions are favourable, we are capable of producing good amounts of gold at low cost. In fact, for the last 14 days, we have treated 30,500 tonnes of ore, grading 1.2 g/t and with a recovery rate of 84.7%, producing 980 oz gold.
PURCHASE OF ORE
On 29th March Hambledon signed a contract to buy gold ore from the Beskempir mine belonging to TOO Odak for treatment at the Sekisovskoye plant. The ore has an average grade of 4.5 g/t and the contract provides for Hambledon to pay some 51% of the gold value (depending on grade) to the vendors, who must pay for transport to our local railway station at Ust- Kamenogorsk. The first shipment of 1,000 tonnes is due to be made very soon. The profitability of treating this ore is expected to be greater than that obtained from treating our own ore. In addition, it will help the Sekisovskoye mine to keep pace with the treatment plant at this point in the pit where the stripping ratio is at its maximum. The contract is for an initial quantity of 10,000 tonnes which should be made over a period of two months but it is expected to continue with additional tonnages. This in turn will further extend the life of the open pit mine.
UNDERGROUND
On the 9th of February, the contractors Kazinterethnos started the refurbishment of an existing 150 m deep shaft. This shaft will serve as a ventilation shaft and emergency egress during underground mining. It is being lined with steel plates on a fixed metal frame, and will include a travel way. This work should be completed by August 2010. As already mentioned, we have completed the construction of the 4 KV power line from the sub-station, the road to the decline portal, and the dewatering ponds. Once the shaft is re-established, we intend to drill 12,000 metres of exploration holes between the 320 and 180 levels to obtain more information about the resource in this area of the mine, to assist in mine planning and to further delineate the mining reserve.
ENQUIRIES:
HAMBLEDON MINING:
Telephone +44 (0)207 233 1462
Charles Zorab
FAIRFAX I.S. PLC:
(Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Telephone +44 (0)207 598 5368
Ewan Leggat
Copyright Business Wire 2010