Serabi Mining plc
19 January 2006
QUARTERLY INVESTOR UPDATE
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Serabi Mining plc advises that it has today despatched to shareholders its
quarterly investor newsletter for the Fourth Quarter of 2005.
The Company has highlighted in its newsletter the following matters:
• Continuing operating improvements throughout the year underlies 2005
production of 17,261 oz gold equivalent
• Following new productivity initiatives, Q4 underground mining production
was up 54% (89% including open cut material) and Q4 process plant
throughput was up 50% over Q3 results
• Major benefits expected to result from the introduction of decline access
and long-hole trackless mining at Palito
• Introduction of grid electricity and completion of capital projects about
to benefit the Palito mine and emphasize Serabi's position as the only
established operator in the Tapajos gold province
Palito - Operating Results 2005 (1)
Year-ended
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Dec 2005
Mining Rate:
Underground (per day) t 7,753 13,689 12,381 19,059 54,993
(87) (150) (135) (207) (151)
Open Cut (2) (per day) t 4,394 4,394
(48) (48)
Total Mined (per day) t 7,753 13,689 12,381 23,453 59,387
(87) (150) (135) (255) (163)
Milling Rate:
Milled (per day) t 8,222 14,006 14,315 21,415 57,958
(92) (154) (156) (233) (159)
Head Grade g/t 9.3 8.6 12.1 7.7 9.2
Recovery % 84.2 88.2 90.2 91.8 89.4
Production:
Gold oz 2,077 3,427 5,005 4,837 15,345
Copper t 22.4 38.2 81.0 74.7 216.2
Gold equivalent oz 2,262 3,747 5,724 5,528 17,261
1) Provisional
2) November and December only; includes Compressor Lode oxide material and
surface material from Palito North
PALITO
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Production levels improved throughout 2005 resulting in total gold equivalent
production of 17,261 ounces for the year. Significantly, the initial impact of
plans to overcome the mining bottleneck outlined in the September Investor
Update are already evident in the December quarterly results. Underground mining
rates reached an average of 207 tpd for the quarter and 232 tpd during November
and December.
The first de-bottlenecking phase of a three stage process plant improvement plan
was completed during Q4. Average mill throughput for the quarter rose to
233 tpd, however this reflected a transitional period and the plant regularly
achieved between 250 and 300 tpd during the last half of the quarter. The second
phase of the improvement plan is now underway, which will include the addition
of a third ball mill. The completion of this second phase should reduce mill
downtime and result in sustainable capacity of 300 to 350 tpd.
The full text of the quarterly update is available from Serabi's offices or from
the company's website www.serabimining.com.
Enquiries: Serabi Mining plc
Graham Roberts Tel: 020 7220 9550
Chairman Mobile: 07768 902 475
Clive Line Tel: 020 7220 9550
Finance Director Mobile: 07710 151 692
Chris Sattler Tel: 020 7220 9550
Manager, Finance and Corporate Development
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange