Sumatra says Belinau gold project continues to advance
Friday, December 16 2011 - 01:36 AM WIB
The high grade Belinau deposit lies within the company?s wholly-owned, flagship Tembang gold and silver project in central Sumatra.
Sumatra said recent geotechnical analysis at Belinau indicated ?fair to good? ground conditions, which would support conventional, low cost underground mining methods and further improved the project?s economics.
The geotechnical assessment was completed by AMC Consultants Pty Ltd. The analysis was based on the geotechnical logging of 39 diamond holes (7,475 metres), plus five oriented geotechnical holes and a recent site visit.
Based on the analysis, favorable ground conditions near the mine entry means that minimal capital works will be required to enable safe underground access. Further, the depth of the Belinau deposit is relatively shallow, which improves the project?s economics and safety, the company said
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Sumatra Chief Executive Officer Julian Ford said, ?The testwork to date confirms the proposed Belinau underground mine will be able to support conventional mechanised mining methods, which significantly de-risks the project both in terms of projected operating and capital costs.?
The geotechnical diamond drill program at Belinau comprising five holes for 1,033 metres was completed in September 2011. Selected cores will be sent to AMMTEC for detailed formal assessment.
Full results of this program are expected in February 2012.
The company is an emerging gold and silver producer and the preeminent precious metals explorer in southern Sumatra. It has a significant greenfields to brownfields project portfolio covering 3,200 km2. It is currently fast tracking its 100% owned Tembang project and first production is expected by 2013. Tembang has a JORC resource of 976,000 ounces gold and 12.8 million ounces silver.(alex)