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Re: News Releases - Monday, March 22, 2010
Crocodile Gold Provides 2010 Production Guidance and Announces
Major Exploration Program
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March 22, 2010 -- Crocodile Gold Corp. (TSX:CRK) (OTCQX:CROCF)
(Frankfurt:XGC) ("Crocodile Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to
provide 2010 production guidance for its operations in the Northern
Territory of Australia (refer to Figure 1 at www.crocgold.com for location map).
Highlights include:
- Production of 120,000 ounces of gold;
- Cash Costs of US$650 per ounce; and
- Major exploration budget of US$23 million focused on a substantial resource expansion.
Production
The Company is forecasting production in 2010 of 120,000 ounces of gold
at an estimated cash cost of US$650 per ounce (assuming an exchange
rate of US$1.00:AUS$1.125). This is expected to result from the
processing of 1,800,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.3 g/t Au. The
majority of the production (75%) will come from the Howley open pit
mine, with additional contributions coming from the Brocks Creek and
Tom's Gully underground mines (Table 1).
Table 1: 2010 Forecast Production by Mine
Howley* (*Howley pit totals include limited North Point pit ore)
Tonnes = 1,652,000
Grade = 1.9 g/t Au
Recovery = 90%
Ounces = 89,000 oz Au
Brocks Creek
Tonnes = 100,000
Grade = 8.1 g/t Au
Recovery = 90%
Ounces = 23,300 oz Au
Tom's Gully
Tonnes = 48,000
Grade = 6.6 g/t Au
Recovery = 75%
Ounces = 7,700 oz Au
Ore is currently being extracted from the Howley open pit mine and the
Brocks Creek underground mine and is being trucked to the Union Reefs
mill for processing.
At the Tom's Gully mine, development of the access ramps is underway in
order to access the higher grade ore. The mill at Tom's Gully is
expected to restart during Q3 2010.
Dewatering of the former open pit is progressing well at the Cosmo
underground development project. Ramp development to access the
underground orebody is anticipated to commence by the start of Q3 2010
and production is forecast by the beginning of Q3 2011. It is
anticipated that once the Cosmo mine is in production it will
substantially reduce the Company's overall cash costs.
Capital expenditures for 2010 are forecast to be US$56 million
including an expenditure of US$13.3 million for the final property
payment due in June. These expenditures also include those for the 2010
exploration program, and development work at Cosmo and Tom's Gully. The
Company is currently completing engineering work, and sourcing of long
lead time items and site preparation with respect to locating a mill at
the Cosmo site, which is also expected to substantially lower
production costs. This is expected to be finalized in the second
quarter of 2010. Capital costs associated with the mill are not
included in the 2010 total.
Exploration
As a result of the encouraging results received to date from the
ongoing exploration program, Crocodile Gold has commenced an expanded
program for 2010 with a budget of US$23 million. This will include
40,000 metres of
Diamond drilling and 90,000 metres of reverse
circulation drilling.
As stated in the Crocodile Gold press release dated January 25, 2010
the Howley resource has been increased at a cost of approximately US$6
per ounce, and the Company believes the potential exists to lower this
discovery cost as understanding of the mineralization improves. The
long term goal is to increase Crocodile Gold's resources to 10 million
ounces of gold, and the aggressiveness of the new program is intended
to achieve this goal as quickly as possible. If this resource goal is
achieved the potential exists for annual production to rise to
substantially above 250,000 ounces per year.
More than 70% of the new budget is dedicated to exploring and upgrading
the resources at Cosmo and Howley. The Cosmo/Howley area covers a 5
kilometre mineralized system which is part of a 25 kilometre
mineralized trend with known resources along its entire length (refer
to Figure 2 at www.crocgold.com). The longer term goal is to investigate the
potential along the full 25 kilometre length. Additional exploration
targets for 2010 include Tom's Gully, Maud Creek and Iron Blow.
In providing this information, President and CEO, Mike Hoffman, stated,
"We are pleased to be providing detailed guidance which is consistent
with all our previous statements on expected production. We have
learned a considerable amount regarding the Howley and Brocks Creek
operations during the start up phase and are therefore confident in our
ability to meet these targets. As the year progresses and we continue
to obtain further exploration data, we will examine the potential to
further optimize the operation from a cost and production point of
view.
"The aggressive nature of the new exploration program is testament to
our belief that we are exploring a very large mineralized system with
excellent long term potential, which we want to demonstrate as quickly
as possible. Exploring with the goal of substantially increasing the
overall reserves and resources will allow our site team to properly
sequence and optimize future production. We are continuing to add
expertise at the operations and are building a strong team of
professionals in the Northern Territory."
Conference Call
Crocodile Gold will hold a conference call and audio webcast on Monday,
March 22, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. ET as discussed in the Crocodile Gold press
release dated March 18, 2010. Participant dial-in numbers are shown
below.
Toronto: 416-340-2216
North America Toll Free (Canada & US): 1-866-226-1792
International Toll Free (Outside of Canada & US): 1-800-9559-6849*
(*Please note extra digit required)
The conference call can also be accessed on a listen-only basis through
our website at www.crocgold.com. The webcast will be archived on our
website following the conference call.
Qualified Person
Alfred John Gillman of Odessa Resources Pty Ltd and Heath Gerritsen of
Crocodile Gold are each a "qualified person" as such term is defined in
National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and confirmed the technical
information and data included in this press release.
About Crocodile Gold
Crocodile Gold is a Canadian company with the Howley and Brocks Creek
operating gold mines in the Northern Territory of Australia and a land
package of over 3,500km2. Crocodile Gold announced its first gold pour
in December 2009 at its Union Reefs mill. Crocodile Gold started
development work at the Tom's Gully underground mine in Q1 2010 and
have already commenced activities at Cosmo to prepare it for
underground development beginning in mid-2010 with full production
expected by the end of 2011. Crocodile Gold has two mills, including
the 8,000 tonne per day Union Reefs Mill and the 800 tonne per day
Tom's Gully mill. Crocodile Gold has 3.09 million ounces of NI 43-101
compliant measured and indicated resources (42.9 million tonnes at an
average grade of 2.3 g/t gold) and 1.94 million ounces of inferred
resources (26.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.3 g/t gold)
(See Management Information Circular dated October 5, 2009 and
Crocodile Gold Press Releases dated September 8, 2009 and January 25,
2010). The Company has an aggressive exploration program in place and
is drilling on several key properties. There are numerous exploration
targets that the Company is prioritizing.
For further information, please contact:
Michael Hoffman
President and CEO
Crocodile Gold Corp.
Tel: 416-861-2964
Ashleigh Clelland
Manager, Investor Relations
Crocodile Gold Corp.
Tel: 416-861-5899
info@crocgold.com
Cautionary Note
Certain information set forth in this press release contains
"forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information" under
applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact,
certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking
statements which include management's assessment of Crocodile Gold's
future plans, operations and mineral resource estimates and are based
on Crocodile Gold's current internal expectations, estimates,
projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect.
Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such
as "expects" "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", and
similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such
forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks
and uncertainties, which may cause Crocodile Gold's actual performance
and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any
projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to: liabilities inherent in mine
development and production; geological, mining and processing technical
problems; Crocodile Gold's inability to obtain required mine licenses,
mine permits and regulatory approvals required in connection with
mining and mineral processing operations; competition for, among other
things, capital, acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped lands and
skilled personnel; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions;
changes in commodity prices and exchange rates; currency and interest
rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt operations and/or
the transportation of mineral products, including labour stoppages and
severe weather conditions; the demand for and availability of rail,
port and other transportation services; the ability to secure adequate
financing and management's ability to anticipate and manage the
foregoing factors and risks. There can be no assurance that
forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Crocodile Gold undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates
or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities
laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. The ability of Crocodile Gold to achieve
production of 120,000 ounces of gold in 2010 and to increase production
to more than 200,000 ounces of gold per year in 2011 has not been the
subject of a feasibility study and there is no certainty that the
proposed expansion will be economically viable.
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Copyright (c) 2010 CROCODILE GOLD CORP. (n/a) All rights reserved.
For more information visit our website at http://www.crocgold.com/ or
send mailto:info@crocgold.com
Message sent on Mon Mar 22, 2010 at 5:18:51 AM Pacific Time
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