12 Jan 2011 07:00
AIM: GMA | 12 January 2011 |
GMA Resources plc
("GMA" or the "Company")
Production Update for Q4 2010
GMA announces that from 1 October to 31 December 2010, the Amesmessa gold mine in Algeria produced 4,733 oz of gold (Q3 2010: 7,259 oz) and 1,037 oz of silver (Q3 2010: 1,316 oz). Detailed production data is set out in the table below.
During Q4 2010, there was a marked drop in the overall grade of the mined ore (2.12g/t) when compared to the first nine months of 2010 (3.12 g/t) and all of 2009 (3.55 g/t). This unexpected reduction in the overall grade of mined for the quarter was the major contributing factor to the drop in gold production for the period. Another factor was the depletion of mining areas which had been supplying high grade ore for the CIL processing plant. Some high grade zones were indentified towards the end of the quarter, allowing for a small improvement in monthly production in December (1,673 oz) from November (1,346 oz).
Consequently, more lower grade heap leach ore was required to supplement the lack of high grade ore tonnage to feed the CIL plant. This resulted in the CIL plant processing 11,225 tonnes at only 5.33 g/t with an 82% recovery rate, versus a projected figure of 10,500 tonnes at 11.00 g/t with an 85% recovery rate.
The Company's operations were also affected in Q4 2010 by the re-emergence of supply chain issues beyond its control, resulting in the delay of critical spare parts for the processing circuit, laboratory consumables and heavy equipment fleet. The main impact arising from this delay was that the crushing circuit operated at a reduced capacity to minimise the potential of a major outage (in Q4 2010, 87,706 tonnes were stacked to the heap leach pad at 2.24 g/t and 50% recovery versus projections of 135,000 tonnes at 3.1 g/t and 45% recovery).
During 2010, the Company moved towards using Algerian suppliers for key consumables where possible and this shift has led to a reduction in lead times on some items. However the major suppliers of equipment in Algeria also face the same challenges in importing parts into Algeria. The Company is working with its main suppliers to devise mutually beneficial arrangements in a bid to reduce the lead times for parts which are crucial to the Company's operations.
More detailed production data for Q4 2010 is set out in the table below:
Unit | Oct '10 | Nov '10 | Dec '10 | 4th Quarter | Full Year 2010 | Full Year 2009 | Full Year 2008 | |
Total Gold Production ENOR | oz | 1,715 | 1,346 | 1,673 | 4,733 | 23,876 | 32,598 | 18,291 |
Total Silver Production ENOR | oz | 386 | 317 | 334 | 1,037 | 4,756 | 6,409 | 3,748 |
High Grade Ore Tonnes ex-Mine | mt | 3,810 | 1,500 | 2,660 | 7,970 | 36,410 | 60,720 | 37,660 |
High Grade Ore Grade ex-Mine | g/t Au | 6.90 | 6.25 | 10.11 | 7.85 | 11.32 | 12.27 | 11.44 |
Heap Leach Ore Tonnes ex-Mine | mt | 47,180 | 42,600 | 27,605 | 117,385 | 500,665 | 604,620 | 549,239 |
Heap Leach Ore Grade ex-Mine | g/t Au | 1.85 | 1.65 | 1.65 | 1.73 | 2.28 | 2.68 | 1.81 |
Average Grade Mined | g/t Au | 2.23 | 1.81 | 2.39 | 2.12 | 2.89 | 3.55 | 2.43 |
Waste Tonnes Mined | mt | 291,190 | 297,870 | 288,180 | 877,240 | 3,752,185 | 5,912,490 | 5,378,460 |
Strip Ratio | 5.71 | 6.75 | 9.52 | 7.32 | 7.12 | 9.10 | 9.16 | |
Ore Stacked to Heap Leach Pad | mt | 29,751 | 29,166 | 28,789 | 87,706 | 454,627 | 507,100 | 424,300 |
Heap Leach Grade | g/t Au | 3.23 | 1.18 | 2.30 | 2.24 | 2.83 | 4.41 | 3.13 |
Ore Processed at CIL | mt | 3,186 | 3,650 | 4,389 | 11,225 | 16,345 | 0 | 0 |
CIL Grade | g/t Au | 6.19 | 3.48 | 6.24 | 5.33 | 9.14 | 0 | 0 |
Total Tonnes Processed | mt | 32,937 | 32,816 | 33,178 | 98,931 | 470,972 | 510,253 | 424,300 |
Average Grade Total Processed Ore | g/t Au | 3.52 | 1.44 | 2.82 | 2.59 | 3.05 | 4.41 | 3.13 |
Recovery Heap Leach | % | 55% | 90% | 42% | 50% | 48% | 45% | 43% |
Recovery CIL | % | 70% | 84% | 88% | 82% | 84% | 0% | 0% |
Total Recovery | % | 58% | 89% | 56% | 57% | 49% | 45% | 43% |
Ken Crichton, Chief Executive of GMA, commented:
"This quarter has been disappointing and we have been surprised at the lower grades of ore being produced and also by the resurgence of supply chain issues which we thought had begun to be resolved. As previously announced, we are actively addressing the lack of exploration and resource drilling in the last five years to assist the mine geologist to accurately delineate ore grades and tonnages as the mine progressively deepens. This is required for the complex selective mining operation to prevent dilution of the thin (and consequently low tonnage) quartz veins currently being mined. We will be revising our monthly production targets but do not yet have enough information to accurately predict these for 2011.
After one year working in the operation and seeing the exploration results to date, my view is that the long term future of Amesmessa relies on the discovery of a major deposit which can utilize a large heavy equipment fleet and high tonnage CIP/CIL processing facilities to achieve the economies of scale required for a successful remote mining operation. We hope to achieve this with the current RC drilling programme which is targeting the wide mineralised zones identified in the soil geochemical programme and we expect to make further announcements as exploration results are received."
Enquiries:
GMA Resources Plc
| Ken Crichton | +20 (0)10766 6118 |
Merchant Securities Limited (Nomad) | Bidhi Bhoma | +44 (0) 20 7628 2200 |
Notes to Editors:
GMA owns a controlling 52% stake in ENOR spa ("ENOR"), the Algerian based operating company for the Tirek-Amesmessa project, with the remainder owned by Sonatrach, the Algerian state-owned oil and gas company.
ENOR holds the exploitation authorisation to the Tirek-Amesmessa property, an area of some 1,417 km2, located approximately 450km south west of the city, Tamanrasset, in southern Algeria. Amesmessa is an open pit heap leach gold mine located in the extreme south of the permit area. The now closed Tirek mine site is located centrally in the northern third of the exploration permit area, some 60 km north of Amesmessa. Research to date suggests that the Zita Zone, which lies between Tirek and Amesmessa, offers considerable potential for the development of additional prospects amenable to open-pit mining. GMA plans to quickly expand upon resources outside of the major 80km Tirek-Amesmessa fault north/south of the concession.
GMA's shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: GMA).
For further information on the Company, please visit: www.gmaresources.co.uk