Business
Gold Reserve Inc. provides Brisas progress report
SPOKANE, WA, Feb. 19 /CNW/ - Gold Reserve Inc., (TSX: GRZ; AMEX: GRZ) 2007 was a landmark year fo...
About this update from Gold Reserve Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nSPOKANE, WA, Feb. 19 /CNW/ - Gold Reserve Inc., (TSX: GRZ; AMEX: GRZ)\n2007 was a landmark year for the Company's Brisas gold copper project\nachieving a number of positive milestones as we continue the advancement of\nthe Brisas project towards production. The primary milestone of 2007 was the\nreceipt of the Permit to Affect Natural Resources from the Venezuelan Ministry\nof the Environment which enabled us to begin the construction process at the\nBrisas Mine. We now are awaiting the Initiation Act to commence full-scale\nconstruction. There were also many other milestones and positive events that\nwere achieved that continued the advancement of the Brisas project towards\nproduction.\n\n\nAfter receiving the Permit to Affect, we started the process of preparing\nthe project for construction. A major issue in the mining industry today is\nthe long lead times for items such as grinding mills and mining equipment. We\nimmediately commenced procurement efforts with the assistance of SNC-Lavalin\nInc. ("SNC"), our EPCM contractor, and we placed orders for the gyratory\ncrusher, two SAG mills, four ball mills, two vertical mills, and the gear\ndrives and motors for the mills. The suppliers are coordinating the\nfabrication and delivery of these critical pieces of equipment according to\nproject schedule. We have also begun the process of a phased order for mining\nand construction equipment from Caterpillar and are pleased to report that we\nhave already taken delivery of the first phase of that equipment order. A\nsubstantial portion of the procurement function is now complete.\n\n\nThe detailed engineering performed by SNC was substantially advanced\nduring 2007 and was approximately 70% complete by year end. We expect the bulk\nof the detailed engineering to be complete by mid 2008. Detailed engineering\nincludes thousands of construction drawings, site layout, manpower\nrequirements, construction planning, and many other functions required in a\nproject of this magnitude. This is the final step in the engineering process\nfor mine development work and is a major requirement for the construction\nprocess. The advanced state of detailed engineering is allowing us to complete\nthe capital cost estimate that will support the financing of the mine. We\nexpect to report the new capital costs and operating costs in ...