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- Quarterly gold production increased 21% to a record 46,290 ounces of gold and cash costs decreased to US$375/ounce.
- Annual gold production increased 165% to 150,928 ounces at a cash cost of US$400/ounce.
- Mill throughput increased 21% to 366,786 tonnes for the quarter.
White Mountain
- First gold was poured two months ahead of schedule in October 2008.
- Commissioning proceeded well and gold production for the quarter totalled 2,617 ounces.
- White Mountain achieved commercial gold production ahead of schedule on 1 January 2009.
BioGold
- The BioGold processing facility produced 10,442 gold-equivalent ounces for the quarter.
Eastern Dragon
- Initial Eastern Dragon Mineral Resource of 3.4 million tonnes at 7.1g/t gold and 66g/t silver, containing 0.8 million ounces gold and 7.2 million ounces silver.
- Initial Eastern Dragon Ore Reserve of 2.0 million tonnes at 8.4g/t gold and 70g/t silver, containing 0.5 million ounces gold and 4.4 million ounces silver.
- Chinese Feasibility Study by a Beijing design institute was completed and permitting progressed towards enabling development to potentially commence in late 2009.
- Initial 25% interest acquired in the 53 km2 Exploration Licence surrounding the Eastern Dragon Lode 5.
Beyinhar
- Updated Beyinhar Ore Reserve of 27.8 million tonnes at 0.62g/t gold, containing 0.6 million ounces.
- The Beyinhar Feasibility Review indicates that the project is an attractive investment at current gold prices.
- Developing Eastern Dragon has been prioritised ahead of developing Beyinhar.
Corporate
- 2009 gold production for Jinfeng and White Mountain is planned to total 210,000 to 230,000 ounces at <US$400/ounce cash cost, a substantial increase in gold production over 2008.
- Sino Gold has agreed to sell its interest in the Nibao Project for US$10 million.
- Up to US$90 million (A$106 million) asset write-downs including goodwill and listed investments anticipated in 2008 financial statements, predominantly relating to the Golden China acquisition.
- Sino Gold received the Miner of the Year Award from Australias Gold Mining Journal and White Mountain received the Development of the Year Award at the China Mining Congress in Beijing.
- No hedging and US$49 million cash available at quarter end.
The complete Quarterly Report and presentation can be downloaded from www.sinogold.com.au
For further information, please contact:
Investor Enquiries: Jake Klein, CEO or Roger Howe, Investor Relations +61 2 8259 7000 info@sinogold.com.au
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