TORONTO, Nov. 22, 2012 /CNW/ - Patagonia Gold Plc (TSX: PAT, AIM: PGD) ("Patagonia Gold" or "the Company") today announced the granting by the
State Secretariat of Mining of Santa Cruz of the full and final permit,
by Disposition number 318, for the development and production of the
Lomada de Leiva gold project in Santa Cruz province, Argentina (the
"Permit").
The Permit document will be posted on the Company's website, www.patagoniagold.com as soon as practicable.
Commenting on this announcement, Carlos Miguens, Deputy Chairman of
Patagonia Gold, said: "We are very pleased to have achieved this important milestone for our
Company. We would like to thank the Governor, authorities and the
community of the province of Santa Cruz for their confidence in our
capacity to proceed with the responsible development of the Lomada de
Leiva gold project, while taking good care of the environment and
existing social structures. We are now ready to commence the
construction of the main heap leach with the aim of achieving full
production by early Q2 2013."
Lomada Heap Leach Gold Project
The Lomada de Leiva Project, together with the adjacent Breccia Sofia
Prospect, is located on the La Paloma property block and is
approximately 40 km to the south of the town of Perito Moreno in the
Santa Cruz province of Argentina.
Target annual production of the project, as per the preliminary economic
assessment ("PEA") completed by Chlumsky, Armbrust and Meyer, LLC (CAM)
of Lakewood, Colorado, dated November 20, 2008, is scheduled at 21,000
ounces of gold. The Company expects full production rates from the main
heap leach to be achieved by Q2 2013 with a forecast production of
14,000 ounces gold for the second half of 2013.
The Lomada heap leach is a "low cost high return" project with a total
CAPEX of approximately US$16 million and an OPEX, estimated from the
trial to be sub US$500 per ounce, in the lower quartile of world gold
producers.
The total additional capital requirements to bring Lomada to full
production is estimated at approximately US$7.0 million, together with
debt for the mining equipment totalling US$4.2 million with scheduled
payments over 36 months. The principal capital items budgeted for in Q4
2012 and Q1 2013 include the heap leach pad construction and liner,
pre-production capital, plant expansion, maintenance facilities,
storage, camp and mining equipment.
Construction of the full scale heap leach and pre-stripping of the mine
area is underway with earthmoving and construction equipment currently
being mobilised to site. The final heap leach pad design and irrigation
plan for an initial capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of ore has been
received. Plant expansion design has also been completed in house,
which will require six additional carbon leach columns to double the
existing irrigation nameplate capacity to 120 cubic metres per hour.
Patagonia Gold intends to operate its own mining fleet. Mining equipment
orders have been placed with Escandinavia S.A. (Volvo) and COVEMA S.A.
(Liebherr) with the equipment scheduled to arrive at the project in Q1
2013. Contract earthmoving equipment will be hired until the fleet
arrives and is commissioned.
There will be an estimated crew of 81 employees and contractors working
during the lifetime of the gold project. The policy of the Company has
been always to prioritize the local workforce and purchase goods and
services from regional suppliers where possible.
The 2008 PEA projected a mine life of seven years. However, CAM reported
that "Significant upside remains by increasing the size of the resource
at Lomada de Leiva and the adjacent Breccia Sofia which would
significantly extend the life of the project." Recent exploration has
identified additional targets to the immediate south of the project
area. The Company will now commence an exploration program aimed at
increasing the existing resource.
About Patagonia Gold
Patagonia Gold Plc is an advanced mining exploration company that seeks
to grow shareholder value through the acquisition, exploration and
development of gold and silver projects in the southern Patagonia
region of Argentina. The Company is primarily focused on the
development of three projects: the flagship Cap-Oeste project, the
nearby COSE project and the Lomada Heap Leach which is expected to
begin generating free cash flow by 2013. Patagonia Gold, indirectly
through its subsidiaries or under option agreements, has mineral rights
to over 220 properties in several provinces of Argentina and Chile, and
is one of the largest landholders in the province of Santa Cruz.
Patagonia Gold is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the
symbol PAT and has been listed on the AIM market of the London Stock
Exchange under the symbol PGD since 2003.
Matthew Boyes, (BSC. Geology, Fellow AusIMM) Chief Operating Officer for
Patagonia Gold PGSA and a qualified person as defined in Canadian
National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and verified all scientific or
technical mining disclosure contained in this news release.
Cautionary Note regarding Technical Information and Forward-Looking
Information
The preliminary economic assessments in connection with the Lomada
project referred to in this news release is preliminary in nature and
include inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that
would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no
certainty that either preliminary economic assessment will be realized.
The Company's planned production decision in respect of the the Lomada
project is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves
demonstrating economic and technical viability and therefore readers
are cautioned that there is increased uncertainty and there are
economic and technical risks of failure associated with such production
decisions.
This news release contains certain information that constitutes
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities
laws. Forward-looking information is frequently characterised by words
such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate"
and other similar words, or statements that certain events or
conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking information includes,
but is not limited to, statements about commencement of production
operations at the Lomada Project, forecasts as to free-cash flow,
strategic plans, mineral resources estimates, spending commitments,
future operations, results of exploration, commencement and completion
of pre-feasibility studies, future work programs, commencement
production, capital expenditures and objectives. Forward-looking
information is based on the opinions, expectations and estimates of
management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause
actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in
the forward-looking information. These factors include the inherent
risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral
properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results
and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices and other factors
described above and in the Company's most recent annual information
form under the heading "Risk Factors," which has been filed
electronically by means of the Canadian Securities Administrators'
website located at www.sedar.com. The Company disclaims any obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking information if circumstances or
management's estimates, expectations or opinions should change. The
reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
information.
www.patagoniagold.com
SOURCE: Patagonia Gold plc