Last checked at 12 Oct 2010 08:30
Hambledon Mining plc ("Hambledon" or "the Company")
12 October 2010
PRODUCTION UPDATE
The Company reports its production for the three months from 1 July 2010 to 30 September 2010.
| July | August | September | Total | ||||||||||||||
| Milled tonnes (dry) | 78,130 | 50,855 | 66,435 | 195,420 | |||||||||||||
| Gold grade (g/t) | 1.11 | 1.34 | 1.35 | 1.25 | |||||||||||||
| Contained gold (gms) | 86,724 | 68,146 | 89,990 | 244,860 | |||||||||||||
| Contained gold (oz) | 2,788 | 2,191 | 2,893 | 7,872 | |||||||||||||
| Gold recovery % | 81.5 % | 84.9% | 83.3% | 83.5% | |||||||||||||
| Recovered gold (oz) | 2,272 | 1,859 | 2,446 | 6,577 | |||||||||||||
| Recovered silver (oz) | 4,415 | 3,431 | 3,777 | 11,623 |
PROCESSING
The 3rd quarter of 2010 continued the improved performance of the operation as the main pit was deepened and ore from the north pit mined. August tonnages milled were lower due to planned maintenance of the bearings on the main jaw crusher, the main transformer and a mill reline. This slightly impacted September's output as well. The mobile crusher, purchased last year primarily to re-crush frozen ore, has now been installed on the ROM pad to act as a backup to the jaw crusher. This arrangement can be viewed in new photos on our web site www.hambledon-mining.com. The mobile crusher was commissioned in mid September. Further mill downtime due to crusher maintenance was avoided towards the end of September by the operation of the mobile crusher.
Good progress has been achieved in the winterisation of the crushing facility. This work will be completed prior to the onset of winter. Again, photographs of the work completed so far are available on our website.
Purchases of third party ore were limited during the quarter due to in inability of the seller to make deliveries. A total of 4,300 tonne was processed during the period in July and August, contributing 335 oz to the quarter production. A purchase was made of 14 tonnes of concentrate from an alluvial mining operation at Ridder ( approximately 60 km east of Sekisovka). This material was assayed as 64 g/t and contributed 25 oz in August.
UNDERGROUND
Development of the surface decline is slightly ahead of schedule. To date, the decline has been advanced 130 m from the portal to a face position at the 421.1 m elevation approximately 4 metres ahead of schedule.
The mining contractor mobilised a small drilling jumbo in late September. This will allow longer holes to be drilled in the decline face and a more rapid advance of the heading to be achieved, progressing the development even further ahead of the planned schedule.
The refurbishment of the shaft to the 320 level was completed during the quarter. This work took slightly longer than anticipated due to large quantities of material in the shaft at the 320 level. Site set-up for the drilling rigs has commenced. The second diamond drill rig has been ordered and is due on site in late October.
Contracts for the purchase of a fleet of equipment to allow Hambledon to undertake the stoping operations are currently being finalized. We will be using a combination of contract mining services and the Company's own resources to further develop the underground operations at Sekisovskoye.
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
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