Osisko Provides Update on Construction and
Development Progress at Canadian Malartic
MONTREAL,
QC, December 21, 2009 - Osisko Mining Corporation ("Osisko")
(TSX:OSK)(FRANKFURT:EWX) is
pleased to provide a report on the progress of the construction and
development program at Canadian Malartic.
Following the approval
received from the Conseil des ministres du Quebec for the Canadian
Malartic Project, Osisko's project team initiated construction activities
on August 27, 2009. Today, after 116 days, construction startup is 100
percent complete and on time. Due to very good weather conditions, the
relocation program advanced to a 95% rate of completion. The construction
program is advancing as planned, with approximately CA$600 million of
contracts having been executed or let out to date. Principal highlights
of the work completed or underway are as follows:
Administration/Truck
Shop Facility
An accelerated construction
program was initiated in late August for the main administration and
truck shop facility. This building has a surface area of 8,500 square
metres. To date, all foundation, steel erection and metal siding work
have been completed. Interior finishing will be continued in the first
quarter of 2010.
120kV
Power line
Hydro-Quebec has received
the necessary authorizations to initiate construction of the 120kV
electrical line. Bush clearing activities are currently underway, and
erection work on the 19 km power line will start in the first quarter of
2010.
Main
Electrical Sub-station
Concrete work and erection
of steel structure has been completed, and the reception at site of the
three transformers is currently in progress.
Ancillary
Facilities
Construction of ancillary
facilities (security building, fuel depot) is in progress. The
construction administration facility has been completed and is now fully
functional.
Gyratory Crusher
Key activities have been initiated at the gyratory crusher
site, including mass backfill work for the support of the principal
conveyor work, and excavation to bedrock for the construction of the
crusher building. Concrete work has commenced and will continue through
to the second quarter of 2010.
Mill
Concrete work on the mill building and the pouring of the
foundations for the SAG and ball mills are progressing rapidly. To date,
more than 20,000 cubic metres of concrete have been poured in the mill
area alone, representing 80% of the planned volume for the mill
construction.
Steel erection for the main mill building was initiated on
November 16 and is expected to be completed during the second quarter of
2010.
The mechanical installation activities of the mill will
commence in the second quarter of 2010. The SAG mill and two of the three
ball mills have been received at site. Delivery of the third ball mill is
expected during the second quarter of 2010.
Leach Tanks
Erection of the leach tanks was initiated in September and
is progressing. The Project requires the 20 tanks with a capacity of
3,000 cubic metres.
Polishing Pond
Clearing activities and road access work have been
completed. In addition, construction of the main dams "A" and
"B" are underway. A total of five dams will be constructed for
the polishing pond.
Mining
Tree clearing work has been completed for the Canadian
Malartic pit. Drainage work and overburden activities have been
initiated.
The Company has accepted the delivery of one O&K
RH340B electrical shovel and three 240-tonne 793F Caterpillar trucks, as
well as additional ancillary support equipment.
Relocation
Relocation activities have progressed to near completion.
Main activities included:
- Relocation of 140 homes to new sector;
- Construction and turnover to authorities of the new
elementary school, day care facility, adult training centre, and low cost
housing units. It is anticipated that construction of the community
centre/auditorium will be completed in January and the elderly health
care facility in May 2010.
- Significant advancement has been made on the closure of
the southern sector with the demolishing of institutional and
non-relocated residential units.
Human Resources
Osisko continues to recruit its workforce for the
supervision of the construction program and the future mining activities.
The Company has received more than 10,000 resumes for potential permanent
positions.
Safety
The Company is very proud of achieving 500,000 hours without
a lost time accident at the end of November.
Cost and Commitments
To the end of November, the Company had invested CA$340
million, representing 36.5% of the CA$931 million capital budget. In
addition, the Company has entered into commitments for approximately $245
million. The Company anticipates that the Project will be completed
within the initial budget estimate.
Sean Roosen, President and Chief Executive Officer,
commenting on the Project advancement noted: "We are very pleased
with the progress at Canadian Malartic. Our rapid pace is the result of
the advanced stage of our detailed engineering, sound planning by our
highly experienced construction management team, and great collaboration
with all stakeholders including suppliers and contractors. We greatly
appreciate the efforts of all those involved and are looking forward to
their continued focus in 2010 and early 2011 to complete the Project on
time and on budget."
About Osisko
Osisko Mining Corporation is currently developing the
Canadian Malartic gold deposit and adjacent mineralized zones into a
large-scale open pit, bulk-tonnage mining operation. The Company is
well-funded with $825 M in cash resources and is carrying out an
aggressive mine development, reserve definition and exploration campaign.
The Canadian Malartic deposit currently represents one the biggest gold
reserves in Canada for a single deposit, and is still growing through
ongoing drilling on new mineralized zones. Current reserves for the
Canadian Malartic property are 6.28 million ounces with 183.3 Mt @ 1.07
g/t Au (proven reserves: 5.16 Mt @ 1.14 g/t Au, probable reserves: 178.2
Mt @ 1.06 g/t).
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release
may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in
this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address
events or developments that the Corporation expects to occur, are
forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements
that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always,
identified by the words "expects", "plans",
"anticipates", "believes", "intends",
"estimates", "projects", "potential",
"scheduled" and similar expressions, or that events or
conditions "will", "would", "may",
"could" or "should" occur. Although the Corporation
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements
are based on reasonable assumptions, including, without limitation that
all technical, economical and financial conditions will be met in order
to put the Canadian Malartic Project into comm ercial production, such
statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results
may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Factors
that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include gold prices, access to skilled
consultants, mining development and mill production personnel, results
of exploration and development activities, the Corporation's limited
experience with production and development stage mining operations,
uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of
personnel, materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals,
actual performance of facilities, equipment and processes relative to
specifications and expectations, unanticipated environmental impacts on
operations market prices, continued availability of capital and
financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These
factors are discussed in greater detail in the Corporation' s most
recent Annual Information Form filed on SEDAR, which also provides
additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. The
Corporation cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is
not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on the
Corporation's forward-looking statements should carefully consider the
above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk
they entail. The Corporation believes that the expectations reflected
in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance
can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such
forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be
unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this
press release.
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