QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/05/12 --
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5 January 2012
Allied Gold Mining PLC ("Allied Gold" or "the Company")
December 2011 Quarter Group Production 31,181 ounces
Calendar 2011 Group Production 108,338 ounces
Allied Gold announces that it produced 31,181 oz in the three months to
31 December 2011, in line with its previous quarterly guidance, and
108,338 oz in calendar year 2011.
The Company provides the following brief overview of its December 2011
Quarter production performance, with a more detailed report presenting
quarterly and annualised operating costs and margin metrics to follow
later in the month.
Simberi (Papua New Guinea)- Production from the Simberi gold mine in
PNG in the December Quarter was 12,387 ounces and 57,284 ounces for the
year. As previously advised, the December Quarter performance also
reflects three weeks of lost production in October due to a mill repair
and preventative maintenance programme. Production throughput has
returned to nameplate levels, and in December the mine had among its
best months for 2011 with 6,377 ounces produced. Mill head grade
averaged approx 1.06g/t and recoveries remained consistent at around
87%.
Gold Ridge (Solomon Islands)- Production from the mine, which poured
first gold in March 2011, was 18,794 ounces in the December quarter and
51,054 ounces for the 2011 year. The quarter was marked by continued
processing of some remnant low grade ore in October and November from
the Valehaichichi pit. In the month of December, the improved
production of 7,315 ouncesreflected blending from two pits and
improved head grade (1.8 g/t) and recoveries of 76%, closer to the life
of mine production rates expected and an increase from below 70% for
the previous quarter. The focus in the March 2012 Quarter will be to
maintain grades and further improve recoveries whilst increasing mill
availability through improvements to the crushing circuit.
Management Additions- Mr Johan Oelofse, formerly the Chief Operations
Officer of Great Basin Gold, was appointed Allied Gold Group GM
Operations to oversee the Simberi and Gold Ridge mines. Johan is a
qualified mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in global
mining projects. Further additions to the senior team are expected
during the March 2012 Quarter as part of increasing the Company's
management depth as it progresses its growth profile.
2012 Outlook- Allied Gold remains fully funded and on track to expand
production during the second half of 2012 to a run rate of greater than
200,000 oz pa. The Company's production guidance for 2012 remains at
approximately 180,000 oz pa, an increase of 160% from production in
2010.
For the March 2012 Quarter, production at Simberi is expected to be
between 16,000 oz and 18,000 oz whilst the plant expansion activities
continue. At Gold Ridge, the March 2012 quarter guidance is between
23,000 oz and 25,000 oz as recoveries continue to improve with
increased tonnage, whilst the final construction to establish access to
the Kupers and Dawson pits is completed.
Allied Gold Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Frank
Terranova, comments: "Significant progress has been made with our
producing assets in the Solomon Islands and PNG, with 2011 having been
an important year for investment. The ramp up to 200,000 oz pa remains
on track and we are fully financed to deliver on this strategy.
Ensuring the attraction and retention of a strong core team who can
drive the Company throughout 2012 and beyond remains a priority,
achieving the optimal blend of operational, corporate and exploration
expertise. We look forward to providing more detail on the December
Quarter performance later in January 2012."
For further information, please contact:
Allied Gold Mining PLC (Investor and Media) - Simon Jemison
+61 418 853 922
RBC Capital Markets (Joint Corporate Broker) - Stephen Foss / Matthew
Coakes / Daniel Conti
+44 (0) 207 653 4000
Oriel Securities(Joint Corporate Broker) - Jonathan Walker / Michael
Shaw / Ashton Clanfield
+44 (0) 207 710 7600
Buchanan (Financial PR Advisor) - Bobby Morse / James Strong / Cornelia
Browne
+44 (0) 207 466 5000
ABOUT ALLIED GOLD MINING PLC
Allied Gold is a Pacific Rim gold producer, developer and exploration
company. It is a FTSE250 and ASX 300 constituent and listed on the
London Stock Exchange's Main Market, Toronto Stock Exchange and the
Australian Securities Exchange with the symbol ALD. It owns 100% of
the Simberi gold project located on Simberi Island, the northern most
island of the Tabar Islands Group in the New Ireland Province of
eastern PNG, and has a 100% interest in the Gold Ridge gold project
located on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands.
Allied Gold has resources of 8.6Moz inclusive of 3.4Moz of reserves and
an extensive exploration programme is underway. The Company is ramping
up production and targeting a run rate of 200,000 oz pa during 2012.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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