Genesee mine gets quality, environmental certification

Fording Inc.‘s Genesee thermal coal mine in west-central Alberta has been successfully audited and will be registered under both the ISO 9001-2000 Quality Management System Standard and the ISO 14001-1996 Environmental Management System Standard.

These certifications represent the seventh and eighth registrations attained by Fording’s mining operations. The Genesee mine joins the Fording River metallurgical coal mine in southeast British Columbia and the Pilares wollastonite mine in northern Mexico in successfully achieving both the quality and the environmental certifications. The Greenhills metallurgical coal mine in southeast British Columbia and the Willsboro wollastonite mine in New York have received their quality certifications.

Gold production begins at Bakyrchik mine

Production of gold recommenced the end of October at the Bakyrchik mine in northeastern Kazakhstan, the first gold produced at the mine since 1996 when Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C., acquired an interest in the project.

The mine is expected initially to produce approximately 20,000 oz Au per year. It is currently processing oxide ore stockpiled from previous mining operations at 500 tonnes per day. The gold is recovered using carbon-in-leach recovery.

Open pit mining of oxide ore is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2002. It will initially focus on 2 million tonnes (t) of oxide ore in the Globoki Log and Sarbas deposits that have an average grade of 3 g/t Au. Grade and tonnage estimates were calculated by Lycopodium Engineers in a 1995 oxide project feasibility study and Minproc Engineers Ltd. in a 1996 definitive feasibility study.

Ivanhoe’s engineering staff believes that the project has the potential to expand to between 40,000 and 50,000 oz Au/yr from oxide deposits, and there is “blue sky” potential based on Bakyrchik’s large sulphide gold deposits.

Ivanhoe has a 70% interest in Bakyrchik Mining Venture, the company that owns the mine; the government of Kazakhstan holds the other 30%. Ivanhoe is entitled to 100% of all operating cash flows from the mine until it has recovered all of its previously invested capital in the project.