QUEBEC - AURIZON MINES of Vancouver poured its first dor bar from the reopened Casa Berardi gold mine on Dec. 4, 2006. The two gold dor bars weighed a total of 1,105 oz and are estimated to contain 776 oz of gold.
The mine was closed by its former owners in 1997 after producing 690,000 oz of gold. Under Aurizon's management, the mine is expected to produce 185,000 oz of gold in 2007. The company expects the mine to produce 1,092,000 oz of gold from 4.8 million tonnes of ore over the initial 6.2-year operating plan, based on current mineral reserves. Additional mineral resources comprise 2.7 million tonnes of indicated resources with an average grade of 5.1 g/t Au and 5.6 million tonnes of inferred resources averaging 6.5 g/t Au.
Aurizon expects to achieve commercial production at Casa Berardi in the first quarter of 2007, with the production gradually increasing from the initial planned rate of 1,600 t/d to 2,200 t/d by the end of 2007. Estimated total cash costs are US$250/oz.
Maps, technical reports and a photo gallery are available at www.Aurizon.com.
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