Centamin Egypt has stepped up to producer status after it achieved first gold pour on schedule at its Sukari operation, the first commercial gold mine in Egypt.
The company announced it poured first gold on Friday last week, and anticipates commercial ramp up in the coming months.
The $US217 million operation is expected to achieve a production rate of 200,000 ounces of gold per annum later this year at a cast cost of $A365 per ounce. The mine life is around 15 years.
The announcement is below:
Centamin Egypt Limited is pleased to announce that the first gold from the Sukari Gold Project ("Sukari") was poured on Friday, 26 June 2009.
This milestone marks the commencement of production and commissioning at the Sukari gold mine ahead of the commercial ramp up of production, which is anticipated over the coming months.
Sukari is the first modern commercial gold mine to be operated in Egypt, and has a current mineral reserve of 142Mt @ 1.4g/t Au for 6.4Moz. The current mineral resource stands at 191Mt @ 1.53g/t Au for 9.39Moz Measured and Indicated, and 64Mt @ 1.7g/t Au for 3.5Moz Inferred (as disclosed in the press release dated 12 February 2009).
Josef El-Raghy, Managing Director/CEO of Centamin, stated: "The first gold pour from Sukari marks the beginning of our production from the largest gold mine to come on-stream this year. The initial production of gold doré came from ore mined in the Amun Zone of the Sukari hill and represents Egypt's first modern day gold production. The 4mtpa capacity plant will attain production rates of around 200,000 oz Au per annum by year end. Centamin is currently stockpiling ore in anticipation of a ramp up in production later this year.
"The delivery of initial gold production in June 2009 is testament to the extraordinary hard work and professionalism of the entire team at Centamin and the co-operation of the Egyptian Government in particular His Excellency Sameh Fahmy, Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources. We look forward to updating stakeholders further on progress of the project over the coming months."
