Canadian mining company Guyana Goldfields has produced 1,800 ounces of gold so far and its Aurora Gold Mine is now mechanically complete, which would enable it to ramp up production.
In a statement yesterday, the company announced that its saprolite circuit at Aurora is fully operational and its hard rock circuit is mechanically complete. Previously, the company had obtained first gold production through the gravity and saprolite production circuits, which allowed for earlier gold production (pre-commercial production) through the processing plant.
The saprolite circuit is now fully operational along with the semi-autogenous-grinding mill, gravity circuit, carbon-in-leach tanks, tailings line, and gold refinery. The hard rock crushing circuit has been commissioned and is mechanically complete and is awaiting hard rock for processing.
“Having the full saprolite circuit and hard rock circuits successfully running brings us one step closer to full operational status as we continue ramping-up and delivering our milestones,” Scott Caldwell, the president and Chief Executive Officer of the company was quoted as saying.
The company disclosed that total gold produced to date is approximately 1,800 ounces. First gold sales are anticipated at the end of September. Guyana Goldfields expects to produce between 30,000 ounces to 50,000 ounces of gold in 2015, depending on how quickly full ramp-up is achieved, and approximately 120,000 ounces to 140,000 ounces of gold in 2016.
To date, the company has milled approximately 80,000 tonnes of ore and mined approximately 190,000 tonnes of ore and 549,000 tonnes of waste. The statement said Guyana Goldfields is sufficiently funded to complete construction of the Aurora Gold Mine, with the project remaining on budget with an untouched US$52 million of overrun facility available, if needed.
The company also said it has entered into a swap transaction with one of its debt syndicate lenders, thereby establishing a ceiling for approximately one-third of its diesel fuel purchases over the next two years. The price was based on US$39 WTI Crude Oil (West Texas Intermediate – a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing) and settles monthly with no margin requirements. The company will continue to monitor its exposure to fuel prices and will seek to further reduce this exposure going forward, the statement said.
It also noted that Guyana Goldfields expects to issue an updated National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Technical Report Feasibility Study in the fourth quarter of 2015 for the project which will reflect an extended open pit mining scenario while deferring the underground production until later in the mine life, as well as, current operating cost parameters and reserves based on updated metal prices.
Guyana Goldfields is the first large-scale miner to begin producing gold in the aftermath of Omai Gold Mines Limited in 1993. It comes at a time when gold output from local small and medium-scale miners has been falling due to lower international prices for the metal and other issues.
The company has said that it will produce 3.29 million ounces of gold over 17 years which will see at least 500 jobs being created and projected corporate income tax to the economy of US$509 million.
