|
Glencairn Launches Commercial
Output at Bellavista
Commercial production has begun
at Toronto-based miner Glencairn
Gold's Bellavista gold mine in
Costa Rica, the company
reported.
Output is expected to average
60,000oz per year of gold over
the next seven years. Glencairn
anticipates the mine will reach
the average rate in its first
year, company IR director Jim
Borland told BNamericas.
"We expect to [produce] probably
about 61,000oz in 2006," Borland
said. The mine is now producing
at roughly 85% of its
5,000oz/month capacity.
Gold production at Bellavista
reached 4,250oz in December,
bringing overall output to a
monthly high for the company of
7,844oz when combined with
Glencairn's Limón mine in
Nicaragua.
The company placed 798,348t of
ore grading 1.67g/t gold on
leach pads at Bellavista during
2005.
Gold sales last year amounted to
43,228oz, including 9,875oz from
Bellavista's pre-commercial
production operations and
39,478oz from Limón.
Sales from Limón fell to 7,988oz
in the fourth quarter of 2005
due to an 18-day work stoppage
in November caused by a minority
of unionized workers, Glencairn
said. Limón's sales averaged
10,496oz/quarter in the first
nine months of the year.
Glencairn is developing the
Santa Pancha zone at Limón and
has driven an access ramp some
500m to a vertical depth of 90m.
Material from Santa Pancha began
to provide significant mill feed
at the mine in December and will
continue throughout 2006, the
company said.
The company's overall gold
output is slated to total
102,000oz in 2006.
|
|
