17th Sep 2010 15:05
17 September 2010
FRONTIER MINING LTD
("Frontier" or the "Company")
Gold Production Update
Frontier Mining Ltd (AIM: FML), the AIM listed gold and copper exploration and development company focused on Kazakhstan, today provides a production update on operations at its Koskuduk deposit.
The Company plan for 2010 is to put to leach 500 thousand tonnes of ore this year. We have currently extracted 260 thousand tonnes, of which 173 thousand tonnes is already on the leach pads. A delay until September 3 in connecting the additional electrical power supply led to a 45 day delay in bringing the second crusher online, such that the Company was not able to meet its daily crushing targets for August. The average ore crushing rate since starting production has been 2,500 tonnes per day.
With the electrical problem resolved, the second crusher was commissioned on September 10 and we are on track to ramp up daily crushing to the normal rate of 6,000 tons a day. We are thus holding to our stated target of bringing 500,000 tons of ore onto the leach pads in 2010.
Production to date totals 1,454 ounces of gold and 2,275 ounces of silver. With the reduced crushing rate the Company will not meet its previously stated gold production target for 2010 of 10,000 oz and is now forecasting to produce 6,000 oz. However, the Company is confident that gold poured, combined with gold contained on the leach pads, will total 10,000 oz or more by year end.
The Company will provide a further operational update, detailing general progress as well as developments at Benkala, later this month along with the six monthly financial results.
Erlan Sagadiev, CEO of Frontier, commented: "The problems we experienced in bringing our second crusher online are now behind us. Having constructed and commissioned a production facility in less than six months, the team at Koskuduk is now on track to bring the daily and monthly production rate up to the stated targets and we are confident that this will be reflected in the year end figures."
Enquiries:
Frontier Mining Ltd |
George Cole |
+44 (0)20 7898 9019
|
Libertas Capital |
Sandy Jamieson |
+44 (0)20 7569 9695
|
Walbrook PR |
Bob Huxford |
+44 (0)20 7933 8780 |
Notes to Editors:
About Frontier Mining Ltd:
Frontier Mining Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development Company that was incorporated in the state of Delaware, USA, on 5 August 1998 for the purpose of exploring and developing gold and copper deposits in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, Frontier locates, evaluates, acquires, explores and develops mineral properties.
Frontier currently owns two licenses in Kazakhstan. They are the Naimanjal exploration and mining licence, held by FML Kazakhstan, and, 50% of U.S. Megatech BVI which holds the Benkala licence. FML Kazakhstan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frontier Mining Ltd. Frontier has one producing gold mine, Naimanjal; one pre-feasibility stage gold project, Koskuduk; and the recently acquired 50% interest in the Benkala copper mine.
Frontier also has a potential copper porphyry deposit with associated gold and molybdenum, Baitimir; and several copper/gold prospects along a 25-km trend including both VMS and porphyry types. Metallurgical tests on its Beschoku and Yubileiny copper projects confirm the oxide copper ore is amenable to extraction using low cost SX-EW technology.
Frontier owns a 50% interest in KazCopper LLP, the joint venture company that owns the Benkala copper-molybdenum-gold deposit located in north-western Kazakhstan within the Urals gold/copper ore belt.
A Competent Persons Report ("CPR") valuation report on the oxide section of the Benkala project completed by Wardell Armstrong International ("WAI") in June 2010 has resulted in an NPV of $190 million based on 0.5% diluted copper grade, 63% recovery and 185 000 ton of contained metal and 6,000 USD per tonne copper price. The oxide copper project represents development of approximately 10% of the total resource at Benkala and Frontier will use the production platform of the SX-EW project to finance further evaluation and technical studies required to advance development of the significant Benkala sulphide resource.
Frontier maintains an administrative office in Almaty, the former capital city of Kazakhstan and the main business centre in the southeast. The Company also maintains an office in Semipalatinsk, close to the Naimanjal operations, which is the base for all exploration and development personnel with additional administrative support for exploration. Semipalatinsk is 830 kilometres north of Almaty, connected by regular commercial airline services.
Issued Share Capital
Frontier Mining's shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Frontier now has 917,336,206 ordinary shares issued. Please note that this is lower than the 917,336,219 figure previously announced, such differences being due to rounding errors. Furthermore, in correction to previous announcements, there are no warrants or options outstanding and there have not been any warrants or options outstanding since the exercise of warrants on 15 January 2010, announced on 18 January 2010.
For further information please visit; www.frontiermining.com
Related Shares:
FML.L