The chief executive officer, Kalaa Mpinga said the focus over the past 12 months had been on the phase two rehabilitation and production ramp-up at Freda Rebecca, and added that the resource evaluation demonstrated the longevity and potential of the operations at the mine.
The mine boasts 200 000 m of historical drilling, including 25 000 ore body intercepts, and a proven production history. The addition of this robust updated resource model will put us in a strong position as we move to phase two of the production ramp-up to 50 000 oz/y over the coming months,” he noted.
The increased resource was expected to form the basis for an extended mine life. Mwana increased its gold production by 27 percent in the six months ended September 2010, as a result of the ramp-up at Freda Rebecca. Gold production reached 2 662 oz in that month (September), which is in line with the planned yearly rate of production of 30 000 oz.
Late last year Mwana said that it would focus on consolidating phase one and progressing phase two at Freda Rebecca. Phase-two implementation started in November, with the aim of raising gold production to 50 000 oz/y. The group earned US$13, 5-million from the 10 915 oz of gold that Freda Rebecca produced, boosting its interim revenue to 10, 3-million.
However, operating costs climbed 45 percent to 18, 3-million, resulting in a wider loss of 7, 5-million, from 3, 7-million in the corresponding period.
Future management of the resource would focus on effective grade control with particular emphasis being placed on the quality assurance and control of sampling and assays.
Post published in: Economy