13 Apr 2010 07:00
| AIM: GMA | 12 April 2010 |
GMA Resources plc
("GMA" or the "Company")
Production Update for Q1 2010
GMA announces that from 1 January to 31 March 2010, the Amesmessa gold mine in Algeria produced 5,731 ounces of gold and 1,197 ounces of silver. More detailed production data is set out below.
GMA's management team, including acting Chief Executive Officer, Ken Crichton, is undertaking a comprehensive review of all operations and introducing a series of productivity improvements. To date these measures have included the following:
·; The transfer of the unused carbon in leach (CIL) plant at Tirek to Amesmessa, where compliance testing during April should lead to full operational commissioning by the end of the month. This plant is expected to contribute a further 1,200 oz gold per month to total output from May 2010.
·; The purchase of four Mercedes road trucks in March 2010. These will enable cost effective delivery to the plant of ore taken from more distant resources. Until now these deposits have been uneconomic to access using the existing larger/slower haul trucks.
·; As opposed to continued reliance on high strip ratio ore at Amesmessa only, systematic selection of higher grade, low strip ratio ore locations across the concession has commenced. This process is being made more productive by using existing and new trench sampling data. This data, together with some limited drilling will determine the mine plan until the new purpose built drill rig, which has arrived in Algeria, arrives at the mine site and JORC compliant exploration results can be obtained.
·; A remote sensing review was conducted by the Australian mapping specialist firm Earthscan to identify alteration zones across the concession to prioritise future exploration targets. These alteration zones have been ranked and a geochemical soil sampling of the best anomalies has commenced.
·; A restructuring of the organisation resulting in a significant head count reduction amongst expatriates has been completed.
More detailed production data for first quarter of 2010 is set out in the table below:
|
| Unit | Jan '10 | Feb '10 | March '10 | 1st Quarter |
| Total Gold Production ENOR | oz | 2,010.6 | 1,674.8 | 2,046.1 | 5,731.5 |
| Total Silver Production ENOR | oz | 390.5 | 314.8 | 492.0 | 1,197.3 |
| High Grade Ore Tonnes ex-Mine | mt | 5,040 | 2,460 | 3,660 | 11,160 |
| High Grade Ore Grade ex-Mine | g/t Au | 9.45 | 8.65 | 16.40 | 11.56 |
| Heap Leach Ore Tonnes ex-Mine | mt | 35,850 | 36,930 | 54,400 | 127,180 |
| Heap Leach Ore Tonnes ex-Mine | g/t Au | 2.23 | 2.36 | 2.57 | 2.42 |
| Waste Tonnes Mined | mt | 369,990 | 303,000 | 306,540 | 979,530 |
| Strip Ratio |
| 9.05 | 7.69 | 5.28 | 7.08 |
| Ore Stacked to Heap Leach Pad | mt | 39,661 | 47,963 | 44,523 | 132,147 |
| Crushed Ore Grade | g/t Au | 2.47 | 2.66 | 3.74 | 2.97 |
Ken Crichton, Chief Executive of GMA, commented:
"Preliminary steps have been taken to establish more reliable and cost effective production at Amesmessa. We expect to see an improvement in output in Q2 2010 with the assistance of the Tirek CIL and the measures outlined above."
Enquiries:
| GMA Resources Plc
| Ken Crichton | +20 (0)10766 6118 |
| Merchant John East 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 Tirek gold mine 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