Dioro Explroation NL has cut its three-monthly gold production target by 6000 ounces after a pit wall failure at its South Kalgoorlie operations.
Dioro Explroation NL has cut its three-monthly gold production target by 6000 ounces after a pit wall failure at its South Kalgoorlie operations.
The company said today that remediation work on the wall will delay gold production from the Mt Marion pit by some two months.
Last month Dioro announced it was targeting a gold production rate of 9000oz per month during the December quarter, but that figure had now been cut to 7000oz per month during September, October and November.
However the decrease in the three-monthly production target will not affect the annual forecast of 90,000oz for the 2009 year, Dioro said.
Below is the full announcement:
Dioro Exploration NL wishes to advise there has been a wall failure at the Mt Marion pit where the company is extracting the remnant crown pillar. In excess of 125,000 bank cubic metres (bcm) of soft overburden material has slipped from the upper portions of the pit wall. This has temporarily prevented access to approximately 13,000 ounces of gold contained in blasted broken ore stocks at an average grade of 4.5g/t Au at the bottom of the pit.
It is anticipated that that remediation of the slip and making the pit walls safe for re‐entry will delay gold production from this pit by approximately 2 months. Initial analysis indicates that none of the ore reserves temporarily affected by this event have been sterilized. Remediation work to clear the access ramp has already commenced.
The Jubilee mill will be fed with Frog's Leg ore and a higher proportion of lower grade material from the HBJ pit whilst the remediation work is being completed and access to the ore is re‐established. This will have consequential short term negative effects on the company's gold production and cash flows.
On 26 August 2008 Dioro advised that it was anticipating total production of 9,000 ounces per month for the months of September to December from a combination of Frog's Leg, HBJ and Mt Marion ore sources. As a result of the delayed access to the crown pillar at Mt Marion, production for the months of September, October and November is now expected to be approximately 7,000 ounces per month. Production will increase later in the calendar year when access has been re-established and the estimate of 90 000 ounces of gold production for the company for the 2009 year has not been affected.
Mining operations at Dioro's 100% owned HBJ pit, and development and stoping at the 49% owned Frog's Leg underground mine are continuing normally. The company is now trucking its share of ore production from Frog's Leg and processing it at its 100% owned Jubilee Mill.