5th Jun 2009 10:20
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5 June 2009 |
AIM: GMA |
GMA Resources Plc
("GMA" or "the Company")
Record Production in May 2009
GMA announces that in May 2009, the Amesmessa Gold Mine in Algeria produced 3,447 ounces of gold and 657 ounces of silver. This is the highest monthly gold production the mine has ever produced. The mine produced a total of 16,131 ounces of gold in the first five months of 2009 compared with 8,646 ounces in the last 5 months of 2008.
The Company continues to take measures to resolve the supply chain problems referred to in April's production update. The idle crushing circuit that has been redeployed from Tirek in support of operations at Amesmessa has now been fully reconstructed and is undergoing commissioning tests. This pilot plant from Tirek, whilst uneconomic on a standalone basis, could add up to 500 tonnes per day to the 1,750 tonnes per day design capacity of the existing crushing circuit at Amesmessa. The former Tirek crushing circuit involves a two stage crushing process and will have a separate agglomeration circuit.
During the first five months of 2009, the Company achieved an average gold sale price of US$908 per ounce on sales of 16,627 ounces, which was US$108 per ounce greater than expected at the start of the year.
Douglas Perkins, CEO of GMA, commented:
"As previously announced, we will continue to report production on a monthly basis during Q2 2009 to keep shareholders informed of production on a timely basis. We are pleased that May production resumes our 2009 trajectory of monthly increases and are very focussed on working with our Algerian partners to improve supply chain reliability. The addition of the Tirek pilot plant crushing capacity is very welcome as we move towards maximising output of every component of the current production capability at Amesmessa."
Enquiries:
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GMA Resources Plc Douglas Perkins |
Tel: +1 514 806 6788 |
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John East & Partners Limited, a subsidiary of Merchant Securities PLC Bidhi Bhoma |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 2200 |
Notes to Editors:
GMA owns a controlling 52 per cent. stake in ENOR spa ("ENOR"), the Algerian based operating company for the Amesmessa project, with the remainder owned by Sonatrach, the Algerian state-owned oil and gas company.
ENOR holds the exploitation authorization to the Tirek-Amesmessa property, an area of some 1,417 km2, located approximately 450km south west of the city of Tamanrasset, in southern Algeria. Amesmessa is an open pit heap leach gold mine located in the extreme south of the permit area. The Tirek gold mine is located in the northern third of the exploration permit area, some 60 km north of Amesmessa. Research to date suggests that the Zita Zone, which lies between Tirek and Amesmessa, offers considerable potential for the development of additional prospects amenable to open-pit mining. GMA plans to expand upon resources outside of the major 80km north/south Tirek-Amesmessa fault and other exploration targets on the property.
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