Business
Commencement of Operations
Commencement of Operations.
About this update from Ecr Minerals Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Mercator Gold PLC\n09 August 2007\n\n\n\n\n MERCATOR GOLD PLC\n ('Mercator Gold' or the 'Company')\n\nLONDON, UK - 9 August 2007 - Mercator Gold PLC is pleased to announce that\nmining and treatment of gold bearing ores has recommenced at its wholly owned\nMeekatharra gold complex.\n\nCommissioning of the 1.25 million to 3 million tonne per annum Bluebird Mill\ncommenced during the second week of July and is expected to be completed by the\nend of September 2007.\n\nGold production should commence during the month of August 2007.\n\nIn its first full year of operation, commencing 1 October 2007, the Company\nexpects to produce 120,000 ounces of gold. Some minor delays have been\nexperienced during the initial phase of commissioning as is normal during the\ncourse of bringing a mine of this scale back into production however the\nprogress to date has been relatively smooth.\n\nCost pressures experienced globally and throughout the industry preclude the\nCompany from advising on likely costs of production until the end of the\ncommissioning phase.\n\nInitial production will come from the Surprise Open Pit which has an announced\nreserve of:\n\nSurprise 827,000 tonnes @ 2.35g/t 63,000 ounces\n\nProduction will follow from the Bluebird Pit where the announced reserve is:\n\nBluebird 1,461,000 tonnes @ 2.53g/t 119,000 ounces\n\nFurther production from Prohibition-Vivian-Consols (PVC) and other deposits will\nthen provide plant feed for the balance of the first four years of operations.\nThe announced reserves at PVC are:\n\nProhibition 1,372,000 tonnes @ 4.06g/t 179,000 ounces\n \nVivian - Consols 233,000 tonnes @ 9.54g/t 71,000 ounces\n\nDuring the commissioning phase two geotechnical holes drilled from surface at\nSurprise returned the following intersections from below the current planned pit\nlevel.\n ---------- ----------- -------- ---------\n Hole Number From To Au Grade\n (metres) (metres) (gms/tonne)\n ---------- ----------- -------- ---------\n 07sud001 170 171 16.27\n ---------- ----------- -------- ----------\n 171 172 0.03\n ---------- ----------- -------- ----------\n 172 173 14.07\n ---------- ----------- -------- ----------\n 173 174 0.57\n ---------- ----------- -------- ----------\n 174 175 5.20\n ---------- ----------- -------- ----------\n 175 176 161.94\n ---------- ----------- -------- ----------\n 07sud002 17...