Anaconda reports record gold output from Newfoundland mine

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Anaconda Mining has produced record gold from its Pine Cove gold mine, in Newfoundland, boosting the sales volume and company revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2016.

The Toronto-headquartered miner sold 4 605 oz of gold during the three months ended November 30, at an average sales price of C$1 476/oz, which generated revenue of C$6.8-million.

This was a 34% improvement when compared with eh 3 431 oz the company sold in the comparable period of the 2015 financial year.

“The entire team, from top to bottom, continues to demonstrate the ability to drive more productivity and efficiency in the mill and the mine. Recently, we've gotten huge gains from employing new technologies in the pit and automating portions of the mill along with repairing the ball mill motor in September. One of the most noteworthy achievements in the quarter was increasing throughput to over 1 200 tonnes per operating day in November,” president and CEO Dustin Angelo stated.

During the quarter, the Pine Cove mill operated for 81 days at an availability rate of 88%, which included an eight-day mill shutdown for scheduled annual maintenance. The mill processed 95 629 dry tonnes of ore at an average head grade of 1.66 g/t.

Overall mill recovery was 87%, compared with 85% in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. The mill's run rate for the quarter was 1 181 tonnes per operating day, compared with 1 056 t/d in the same period in the previous fiscal year, a 12% increase.

The mine operated for 64 days in the quarter, producing 105 947 t of ore and 529 718 t of waste. Mining output increased 19% year-over-year to accommodate the increased throughput levels at the Pine Cove mill.

The company had created a platform for growth at Pine Cove, with its main strategy entailing opening satellite deposits and trucking the ore in to the mill, located centrally within the Point Rousse project.

Anaconda had consolidated control over about 6 346 ha on the Ming’s Bight Peninsula, in the Baie Verte mining district, in Newfoundland, where three main prospective gold trends occurred, with about 20 km of cumulative strike length. The Baie Verte mining district was situated between two regional faults, from which secondary faults spread that were important hosts to gold deposits.

Anaconda had already identified four deposits, with several other untested zones, prospects and showings. Importantly, all these deposits were within a maximum of 8 km from the Pine Cove mill.

About three years of mining remained at the Pine Cove pit, which would be supplemented by five to six more years of production from the nearby Stog’er Tight deposit.

The company planned to file its full financial statements by January 12.