Mar 15 2019
Dundee Precious Metals Inc. has recently announced that it has successfully achieved the production of first gold concentrate from its Krumovgrad open-pit gold mine.
After many years of hard work and cooperation with local stakeholders, we are extremely excited to announce that we have reached this pivotal milestone for our Company, with first gold concentrate production at the Krumovgrad gold mine in southern Bulgaria. With commercial production expected in the second quarter of this year, this is the beginning of a new chapter for DPM, which will deliver significant growth in gold production and free cash flow. We would also like to acknowledge the hard work and congratulate the team on the achievement of this key milestone.
Rick Howes, President and CEO, Dundee Precious Metals Inc.
Subsequent to cold commissioning of the processing plant facilities, 650 tons of ore was processed via the grinding, crushing, and coarser flotation circuits at a rate of approximately 100 tons per hour, creating the initial concentrate from the Ada Tepe deposit. In the next few weeks, attention will be centered on initiating the ramp-up and optimization of the processing plant to attain the design gold recovery of 85% and the design throughput of 105 tons per hour.
As opposed to the original estimate of US$178 million, the forecast capital cost continues to be at US$164 to US$166 million. As on February 28th, 2019, project construction was 97% complete at a total cost of US$147 million.
It is anticipated that gold contained in concentrate at Krumovgrad will be between 55,000 and 75,000 ounces in 2019. There is substantial operating flexibility at the time of ramp-up operation, considering the numerous grades of stockpiled mined ore at Krumovgrad.
On the basis of the Mineral Reserves for the Krumovgrad gold project, Krumovgrad will generate on average 100,000 ounces of gold contained in concentrate every year for the initial five years of production, with a mine average life of about 85,000 ounces at a US$404 per ounce cash cost.