VANCOUVER, Dec. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Great Basin Gold
Ltd, ("Great Basin" or the "Company"), (TSX: GBG) (NYSE Amex: GBG)
(JSE: GBG) today provided an operational update for its Burnstone
Mine in South Africa.
The purpose is to provide an update on
operational progress, mainly in development activities and the
establishment of stoping blocks available for mining at
Burnstone.
|
First 2 months of
quarter |
%
Variance |
Q3 2011 |
Q4 2011 |
Waste development
(meters) |
877 |
831 |
5 |
Ore development
(meters) |
1,756 |
2,259 |
29 |
Stoping (square
meters) |
4,573 |
3,729 |
(18) |
Contained Au oz extracted -
development ** |
3,300 |
4,140 |
25 |
Contained Au oz extracted -
stoping ** |
1,440 |
1,364 |
(5) |
Stoping square meters
available |
5,932 |
8,630 |
45 |
Contained average grade Au
oz/tonne (g/t) - development |
0.05 (1.45 g/t) |
0.06 (1.86 g/t) |
28 |
Contained average grade Au
oz/tonne (g/t) - stoping |
0.09 (2.89 g/t) |
0.10 (3.15 g/t) |
9 |
Tonnes milled |
142,246 |
121,974 |
(14) |
Recovered Au oz |
3,903 |
4,467 |
14 |
Recovery % Au |
89.6% |
88.3% |
(1) |
** 95% Mine Call
Factor
Burnstone Mine continued to make good progress
in a number of areas, notably in ore development which increased by
29% and in contained gold extracted (development and stoping),
which increased by 16% compared to the similar period in the
previous quarter. The lower square meters stoped follows the
announcement that the stope configurations would be changed to
improve operational efficiencies that will show in cash costs,
dilution and recovery grades. More significantly, the number of
square meters available for stoping increased by 45%. Tonnes milled
decreased by some 14%, mainly due to the depletion of the low grade
development ore stockpile in the previous quarter.
The Company has also closed the previously
announced US$150 million credit
facility provided by Credit Suisse Ag and Standard Chartered Bank
and the funds were drawn down. The Company has executed the
associated zero cost collars (ZCC) hedge structure, which replaces
the previously remaining 91,250 US$1,705 call options as well as the unexecuted
40,000 call options under the standby facility announced in
August 2011, totaling 131,250 ounces.
The new structure includes 82,737 call options priced at
US$1,890 as well as a further 82,737
call options priced at US$1,930. The
delivery of these ounces is spread over the 5 years ending
December 2016. The graph below
indicates the Company's total hedge exposure after executing the
restructured ZCC. It includes the ZCC structure executed in
February 2011 which also has a collar
price of US$1,930.
Ferdi Dippenaar, CEO and
President commented; "We are making good progress with increasing
the rate of ore development required to increase the number of
stopes available for mining at Burnstone. The decision to increase
the size of the mining blocks was the correct one, with resultant
operational efficiencies already starting to show. Current stoping
continues to confirm that the decision to use Long Hole Stoping as preferred mining method was
correct. In addition, concluding the debt facility provides the
necessary flexibility to ensure that the delayed production build
up can be funded."
About Great Basin Gold
Great Basin Gold (GBG: TSX; GBG: NYSE Amex; GBG:
JSE) is a mining company engaged in the exploration and development
of gold properties. The Company is currently focused on its two
producing mines in the world's two richest gold regions: the
Hollister Project on the Carlin
Trend in Nevada, USA and the
Burnstone Mine in the Witwatersrand goldfield of South Africa.
No regulatory authority has approved or
disapproved the information contained in this news release.
Cautionary and Forward Looking Statement
Information
This document contains "forward-looking
statements" that were based on Great Basin's expectations,
estimates and projections as of the dates as of which those
statements were made. Generally, these forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"outlook", "anticipate", "project", "target", "believe",
"estimate", "expect", "intend", "should" and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual
results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These include but are not limited
to:
- uncertainties and costs related to the Company's exploration
and development activities, such as those associated with
determining whether mineral resources or reserves exist on a
property;
- uncertainties related to feasibility studies that provide
estimates of expected or anticipated costs, expenditures and
economic returns from a mining project; uncertainties related to
expected production rates, timing of production and the cash and
total costs of production and milling;
- uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary
licenses, permits, electricity, surface rights and title for
development projects;
- operating and technical difficulties in connection with mining
development activities;
- uncertainties related to the accuracy of our mineral reserve
and mineral resource estimates and our estimates of future
production and future cash and total costs of production, and the
geotechnical or hydrogeological nature of ore deposits, and
diminishing quantities or grades of mineral reserves;
- uncertainties related to unexpected judicial or regulatory
proceedings;
- changes in, and the effects of, the laws, regulations and
government policies affecting our mining operations, particularly
laws, regulations and policies relating to
-
- mine expansions, environmental protection and associated
compliance costs arising from exploration, mine development, mine
operations and mine closures;
- expected effective future tax rates in jurisdictions in which
our operations are located;
- the protection of the health and safety of mine workers;
and
- mineral rights ownership in countries where our mineral
deposits are located, including the effect of the Mineral and
Petroleum Resources Development Act (South Africa);
- changes in general economic conditions, the financial markets
and in the demand and market price for gold, silver and other
minerals and commodities, such as diesel fuel, coal, petroleum
coke, steel, concrete, electricity and other forms of energy,
mining equipment, and fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly
with respect to the value of the U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar and
South African rand;
- unusual or unexpected formation, cave-ins, flooding, pressures,
and precious metals losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance or
inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks);
- changes in accounting policies and methods we use to report our
financial condition, including uncertainties associated with
critical accounting assumptions and estimates;
- environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining
including processing and stock piling ore;
- geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability
in countries which we operate; and
- labour strikes, work stoppages, or other interruptions to, or
difficulties in, the employment of labour in markets in which we
operate mines, or environmental hazards, industrial accidents or
other events or occurrences, including third party interference
that interrupt the production of minerals in our mines.
For further information on Great Basin Gold,
investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.gov
and home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Great Basin Gold Ltd.