West Perth-based Tanami Gold NL has agreed to pay the former engineering contractor on its Coyote gold project $750,000 to settle all outstanding matters between the two companies.
West Perth-based Tanami Gold NL has agreed to pay the former engineering contractor on its Coyote gold project $750,000 to settle all outstanding matters between the two companies.
Tanami terminated the services of Bemex Corporation Pty Ltd in December 2006, following a number of technical issues and delays with construction and commissioning of the gold plant.
Bemex responded by claiming payment of approximately $2 million for outstanding fees and charges, while Tanami said it intended to counter claim against Bemex for damages in respect of losses incurred.
Tanami said the litigation settlement was "another positive step forward for the company".
Tanami's full announcement is pasted below:
BEMEX LITIGATION SETTLEMENT
The Company is pleased to announce that following settlement negotiations with Bemex Corporation Pty Ltd ("Bemex"), the Company and Bemex have agreed to resolve all issues between them in respect of Bemex's involvement at the Coyote Gold Project, and on the basis that the Company will pay to Bemex $750,000 in full and final settlement of all claims and counterclaims between Bemex and the Company.
Payment to Bemex has been made and the matter is now finalised.
COYOTE GOLD PROJECT UPDATE
The litigation settlement with Bemex is another positive step forward for the Company as management can focus on the development of the Coyote Gold Project, ongoing exploration programs and growth opportunities.
Recent developments at the Coyote Gold Project include:
-Additional leach tanks A $3.2m contract has been awarded to Intermet Engineering to install three new leach tanks which are scheduled to be installed by November 2007. The additional tanks will ensure the treatment plant has adequate leach residence time to achieve high gold recovery levels from the high grade (+12g/t Au) underground ore scheduled to be delivered to the mill in the March 2008 quarter following development of the decline due to commence in November 2007.
-Additional mining equipment on site To achieve minimal dilution when mining ore in the open pits, smaller mining equipment has been used on site since mining recommenced in April 2007. While this has been effective for ore mining purposes, it has limited the productivity of waste mining. To overcome this, additional larger trucks and mining equipment has been mobilised to site to increase waste mining productivity rates.
-Improved grade control and ore mining - The mining team has continued to develop grade control and sampling techniques within the open pits to achieve maximum recovery of higher grade ore with minimal dilution. As shown in the photograph below, multiple shallow trenches are now used to expose the narrow high grade veins for mapping and sampling in advance of mining. This technique combined with RC Percussion grade control drilling provides an effective method of identifying and mining the higher grade ore blocks which are now being exposed as the pit deepens.
-Exploration drill program A 30,000 metre RAB/Aircore drill contract has just been awarded to drill test a number of significant (multiple kilometre) geochem anomalies located within trucking distance of the Coyote Treatment Plant.
