Crocodile Gold Provides Outlook for 2012 Expected to Produce 75,000 to 85,000 Ounces of Gold With Cosmo as Key Catalyst
Friday, Jan 27, 2012
Crocodile Gold Corp. (TSX:CRK)(OTCQX:CROCF)(
Cosmo/Howley Project Area
The Company's flagship underground mine, Cosmo, is expected to contribute 50,000 to 60,000 ounces of gold, or more than 70% of total gold production. Production ore is expected in the first quarter of 2012 with longitudinal mining starting in the upper section of the mine. Management expects Cosmo to reach commercial production in the second half of 2012 and the majority of Cosmo's contribution to the expected annual production will come at this time.
As the Company reported in its press release dated November 10, 2012, the underground delineation drilling has been successful in identifying greater thicknesses than initially expected and, in the lower part of mine, a higher grade core. These thicker zones will allow the introduction of more productive bulk mining methods. Delineation drilling activities will continue throughout the year to support detailed mine planning and to better understand the extent of the previously identified high-grade core on the western part of the orebody and at depth.
The Company is also reporting that the first ore has been mined from two newly developed open pits from the Burnside/Howley Area: Howley West and Rising Tide. These pits were identified, drilled and designed by the Company during 2011 and mining of these pits was approved by the government in the fourth quarter 2011. To date, the Company has successfully developed and mined a total of 8 open pits. Ore feed in the first quarter of 2012 will come from the lower grade Howley West pit as the infrastructure associated with this pit is expected to cope better with monsoonal weather conditions. Precipitation has been substantially below that experienced in 2011.
Union Reefs Project Area
The main focus of work at Union Reefs will be continued exploration on the Prospect and Crosscourse underground deposits where the Company has had significant exploration success in 2011. Two diamond rigs are currently working on the next phase of surface drilling. Management believes that these deposits will be the next catalyst after Cosmo due to their close proximity to the Union Reefs Mill, ultimately allowing the Company to increase production at lower costs.
As part of the Union Reefs Mine Management Plan renewal submission to the regulators, an application for an advanced exploration program, including the development of an exploration decline was submitted in January 2012. Once in place, the decline will facilitate the second phase of detailed drilling and an underground bulk-sampling program focused on the Prospect orebody. Historical production from the Prospect open pit was 411,994 tonnes at 1.6 g/t while past production from the Crosscourse pit amounted to over 13 million tonnes averaging 1.7 g/t Au to produce over 700,000 ounces of gold. Ore was treated at the existing Union Reefs mill with recovery in excess of 94%. Preliminary design work on the upper part of the deposit shows amenability to small scale sublevel retreat mining methods and may provide high grade feed to the mill as shown in Figure 2.
Pine Creek Project Area
The Company continued to work with the various government agencies to finalize permits for mining of the International open pit which is adjacent to the town of Pine Creek. Last December, the Company submitted a Notice of Intent that addressed all previously raised Northern Territory government questions. Feedback is expected in February 2012. Given the uncertainty around the timing of the permit, no provision has been made for production in 2012 from the International open pit.
The Company is also reporting that the first ore has been mined from two newly developed open pits from the Burnside/Howley Area: Howley West and Rising Tide. These pits were identified, drilled and designed by the Company during 2011 and mining of these pits was approved by the government in the fourth quarter 2011. To date, the Company has successfully developed and mined a total of 8 open pits. Ore feed in the first quarter of 2012 will come from the lower grade Howley West pit as the infrastructure associated with this pit is expected to cope better with monsoonal weather conditions. Precipitation has been substantially below that experienced in 2011.
Source: Marketwire
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