10th Aug 2009 16:39
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AIM: GMA |
10 August 2009 |
GMA RESOURCES PLC
("GMA" or "the Company")
Production Update for July 2009
GMA announces that in July 2009, the Amesmessa Gold Mine in Algeria produced 2,885 ounces of gold and 546 ounces of silver. The mine produced a total of 21,522 ounces of gold in the first seven months of 2009 compared with 12,510 ounces in the first seven months of 2008. Gold sales for the first half of the year averaged US$916.42 per ounce against a budgeted price of US$802 per ounce.
The Company continued to experience shortfalls against expected monthly gold production due to a mechanical failure of tertiary crushers, which also affected production in June, and an ongoing lack of spare parts, particularly for the tertiary crushers. The Company received critical spares at the end of July and one of the two tertiary crushers is now fully operational again. Purchase orders were also issued in July to greatly enhance critical spares at the mine site. The crusher system which was relocated from Tirek is also fully operational and produced an average of 298 tonnes of ore per day in July.
Douglas Perkins, Chief Executive of GMA, commented:
"As previously announced, we will continue to report production on a monthly basis during Q3 2009 to keep shareholders informed of production levels on a timely basis. We are disappointed that July production like June falls short of our 2009 plan, particularly after record production in May. We continue to take significant steps to improve efficiencies within our supply chain."
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 (Nominated Adviser) 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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