Central Rand Gold Regulatory News (CRND)

4 Dec 2008 12:25



CENTRAL RAND GOLD

CENTRAL RAND GOLD POURS ITS FIRST GOLD

Trial mining progressing according to plan; commercial mining on track for 2009

Thursday 4th December 2008 - London and Johannesburg listed Central Rand Gold ("CRG" or "the Company") has poured its first gold less than two months after receiving its initial New Order Mining Right from the South African Department of Minerals and Energy. 

The Company's current resource estimate comprises 22.4 million ounces in the indicated category and 13.3 million ounces in the inferred category. CRG expects to upgrade portions of its near surface resource to reserve in Q1 2009.

Gold bullion production has started

CRG began trial mining at its Consolidated Main Reef tenement on October 1, 2008 utilising a plant imported from Gekko Systems in Australia, which has been processing surface material on a trial basis resulting in the first gold pour today on Thursday, 4th December. Brief details of this significant development are as follows:

The gold pour, which took place at Rand Refinery on Thursday, December 4, resulted in approximately a kilogram of gold (35 oz) being poured from material produced from CRG's trial mining operations at slots 8 and 9 of its Consolidated Main Reef tenement in southern Johannesburg 

Trial processing through the Gekko plant, which has a capacity of 20 tonnes per hour 12,000 tonnes per month, is via a gravity recovery circuit. A flotation circuit is also in  the process of being commissioned

CRG received its mining right on September 17th 2008 just 14 months after applying for permission to mine gold and other minerals at its Consolidated Main Reef, Langlaagte and Crown Mines tenements. Further mining rights will be applied for during 2009 and 2010 to mine other areas of the Central Rand Goldfield.

Safety Milestone Achieved

In addition to the considerable operational progress made during 2008, CRG has maintained a strong focus on its occupational health and safety policy with over one million man hours worked since the project's commencement without any lost time injuries.

Commercial mining on track for 2009

Following the initial gold production from trial mining using the small Gekko plant, CRG is on schedule to commence commercial mining in 2009. The key milestones for this are as follows:

CIL plant ordered and expected to be commissioned by end of Q1 2009

30TPH Bateman plant ordered and expected to be commissioned in May 2009

CRG will shallow mine for the next 5 years from reefs which outcrop from surface down to 300 metres below surface; these reefs have an average indicated grade of between 5 to 6 grams of gold per tonne.

Commenting on the gold pour, Alastair Walton, Chairman of CRG, said:

"Within a period of only two and half years, the current management team has turned an ambitious idea into a well capitalised listed company which as of today is one of the few new gold producers to come on stream this year. The gold pour also demonstrates that we remain on track to deliver on the strategy stated at the time of our IPO last year, which was to be successfully awarded our initial New Order Mining Rights, begin trial mining, and produce our first gold bullion by the end of 2008."

For further information please contact: 

Central Rand Gold +27(0) 11 551 4000

Alastair Walton

alastair.walton@centralrandgold.com 

Buchanan Communications Limited +44 (0) 20 7466 5000

Bobby Morse / Ben Willey

bobbym@buchanan.uk.com

Evolution Securities Limited +44 (0) 20 7071 4300

Simon Edwards / Chris Sim / Neil Elliot

Jenni Newman Public Relations (Pty) Ltd +27 (0) 11 772 1022 / +27 (0) 82 8828888

Jenni Newman / Megann Outram

Macquarie First South Advisers (Pty) Ltd +27 (0) 11 583 2000

Thato Morojele / Annerie Britz

Photographs of the gold pour will be available for download on CRG's website www.centralrandgold.com or from Buchanan Communications in London and Jenni Newman PR in Johannesburg 

Ends