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12 Oct 2011 07:00
Hambledon Mining Plc
("Hambledon" or "the Company")
Activities Report for the Quarter Ended 30 September 2011
Hambledon Mining plc (AIM: HMB), the Kazakhstan gold mining and development company, today provides its operational report for the three months from 1 July to 30 September 2011. A copy of this report will be available on the Company's website, www.hambledon-mining.com
Production figures for the three months from 1 July - 30 September 2011:
| July | August | September | Total | |||||||||||||
| Milled tonnes (dry) | 77,632 | 69,591 | 69,268 | 216,491 | ||||||||||||
| Gold grade (g/t) | 0.73 | 1.20 | 1.25 | 1.05 | ||||||||||||
| Contained gold (gms) | 56,593 | 83,230 | 86,618 | 226,441 | ||||||||||||
| Contained gold (oz) | 1,819 | 2,675 | 2,784 | 7,278 | ||||||||||||
| Gold recovery % | 82.24 | 84.01 | 82.01 | 82.75 | ||||||||||||
| Recovered gold (oz) | 1,496 | 2,247 | 2,283 | 6,026 | ||||||||||||
| Recovered silver (oz) | 3,257 | 4,135 | 3,495 | 10,887 |
OPEN PIT AND PROCESSING OPERATIONS
The extraction of excess open pit waste material is nearing completion. During the quarter ended 30 September 2011, the Sekisovskoye mining operation averaged 450,000t of material movement each month, totalling 1.368Mt. This increase of 35%, compares with the 1.015Mt excavated in Q3 2010. Substantial improvements to the operations have been achieved over the past six months and once the excessive waste quantities have been removed, the mining operations at Sekisovskoye will be well placed for 2012.
The focus on waste extraction during July meant that less ore was mined. As a result, a significant proportion of ore from the low grade stockpile was treated, resulting in the exceptionally low overall gold grade in that month. In August and September, more regular mining activities resumed so that less ore from the low grade stockpile was treated, resulting in an improved grade of feed to the process plant.
The process plant treated 216,491 tonnes of material and produced a total of 6,026 ounces of gold and 10,887 ounces of silver.
UNDERGROUND
The decline access to the underground deposit advanced according to plan during the quarter with no safety incidents. The development of the underground project remains on target for extraction commencing in Q4 2011. Two separate underground tunnels were completed to provide drill chamber access for the ore zones.
DRILLING
As part of Hambledon's 25,000m drill programme, the results from some forty-seven holes have been announced, totalling approximately 8,000 metres. The drill results released to date have been above expectations. There has been an expansion of resources from all ore zones, notably from Ore Body 11 which will be the first zone to be mined. The next set of drill results will be announced shortly.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Construction of tailings dam No. 3 is complete and the dam has been commissioned. Construction of tailings dam No. 4 has commenced with topsoil removal complete, clay removal 25% complete and construction of the rock embankment 12% complete.
Open pit waste is being used to construct the tailings dam No. 4 embankment which will reduce mining operating costs, minimise land disturbance and decrease the long term rehabilitation liability of the business. The design of this impoundment raise has been completed in accordance with the revised waste management strategy. This will eliminate the need for ongoing construction once tailings dam No.4 and the tailings dam complex raise is complete.
The expansion of the engineering workshops is well advanced with completion scheduled for December 2011.
Tim Daffern, Chief Executive Officer of Hambledon, commented today: "The Q3 results mark a pleasing return to more regular operating performance levels. We are continually striving to enhance the efficiency of our business. The decision to advance the removal of open pit material in order to optimise the performance of the open pit is essentially complete, with a commensurate reduction in operating costs per ounce in quarter three. Over the next quarter, we look forward to updating shareholders with further results from our underground drill campaign and progress of the main transport decline and preparatory works associated with extraction of ores from the underground ore bodies.''
Enquiries;
HAMBLEDON MINING: Telephone +44 (0)207 233 1462Charles Zorab
FAIRFAX I.S. PLC (NOMAD AND BROKER): Telephone +44 (0)207 598 5368Ewan Leggat/Katy Birkin
TAVISTOCK COMMUNICATIONS: Telephone +44 (0)207 920 3150Ed Portman/Jos Simson
Copyright Business Wire 2011
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