Jun 20 2013
Richmont Mines Inc., ("Richmont" or the "Corporation"), is pleased to announce a successful completion of the bulk sampling phase for its W Zone Gold Project ("W Zone" or the "Project"), located in Val-d'Or, Quebec. As a result, the Corporation has made a decision to proceed to the commercial production phase of the Project.
Highlights:
- 7,700 tonne W Zone bulk sample generated 1,315 Au ounces with a mill recovery rate of 97.4% and an average recovered grade of 5.30 g/t Au. The tonnes provided for the bulk mill sample consisted entirely of material from the development drifts;
- 3 month pre-production phase is expected to generate approximately 3,000 Au ounces of non-commercial production during the third quarter of 2013;
- Start of commercial production anticipated in early October, generating additional gold production of approximately 3,000 Au ounces during the fourth quarter of 2013; production rate of 6,000 tonnes per month expected to continue in 2014.
Development of the W Zone to date, from which material was used to complete the 7,700 tonne bulk sample, has confirmed the Corporation's understanding of the mineralized zone. Similarly, average mineralized widths were validated during development, and mill recovery rates and metallurgical results from this phase correlated with the Corporation's expectations. In addition, results derived from both development and milling confirm the project's estimated reserves. Specifically, as at December 31, 2012, the W Zone Gold Project had estimated Probable Reserves of 132,251 tonnes at a grade of 7.21 g/t for 30,680 Au ounces.
Monthly tonnage levels from the W Zone are expected to exceed 60% of the projected 6,000 tonne per month commercial production level over the 3 month period of July, August and September, during which a total of approximately 3,000 ounces of non-commercial gold are forecasted to be produced. The project is expected to transition into commercial production at the beginning of October, and is expected to add approximately 3,000 Au ounces to the Corporation's 2013 projected gold production of 65,000 ounces, bringing Richmont's revised 2013 gold production forecast to 68,000 ounces.
Paul Carmel, President and CEO of Richmont commented: "We are very pleased with the successful bulk sampling phase of the W Zone Gold Project as it confirms our understanding of the mineralized zone. The increased tonnage from the W Zone will improve efficiency and unit cost levels at our Camflo Mill, benefits that we expect will further increase in the event our Monique Gold Project also proceeds from bulk sampling into commercial production. In the meantime, we will be ramping up production levels at the W Zone over the coming months, and look forward to declaring commercial production on this project at the beginning of October."
Source: http://www.richmont-mines.com/