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MDN Inc. ("MDN") (TSX:MDN - News) notifies its
shareholders that African Barrick Gold plc (ABG),
the project operator of the Tulawaka gold mine in
Tanzania in which MDN has a 30% participating interest, announced fourth
quarter and twelve months operational results.
Tulawaka Exploration Update
East Zone Underground Extensions
During the quarter, at the Tulawaka East Zone Underground, diamond drilling
continued from the Level 7 Access drill drive. Drilling continued to focus on
extensions to high grade shoots with Zones 250-500 below Levels 9 and 10.
Quartz veining encountered in a number of the drill holes showed visible
gold.
Diamond drilling continues to test
depth, plunge and strike extensions to the mineralised
lodes throughout the East Zone and is focused on increasing reserves and
resources. The underground diamond drill programme
is expected to continue throughout 2011 with the aim of extending known high
grade zones and delineating additional resources below the current drilling.
ABG will provide a more detailed update
on the future of Tulawaka at the time of our
preliminary results next month.
Operating update for the three months
ended 31 December 2010
Production at Tulawaka
was 14% lower than the prior year period due to lower grade from both
underground as well as stockpiled material.
Production summary
Total gold production at Tulawaka for the quarter was 16,973 ounces compared with the
2009 equivalent period of 19,637 ounces. For the twelve-month period, gold
production was 60,134 ounces compared with 94,180 ounces in the prior year
period. The total production since commencement of operations in March 2005
was 808,678 ounces. The lower gold production during the quarter compared to
the prior-year period was the result of mining lower grade ore from the
underground and processing lower grade material from the stockpiles than in
Q4 2009. A key focus of mine management has been on exploration and
definition drilling to expand the existing reserve and resource base in order
to extend the mine life beyond July 2011. Our plan is to provide further
detail on the progress of this at the time of our preliminary results.
Total gold ounces sold amounted to
19,296 for the quarter, slightly ahead of production and down 11% compared to
Q4 2009, reflecting the decline in production. For the year
, 63,908 ounces were produced, again slightly ahead of production and
down on the prior- year period in line with the decrease in production.
"A comparison between Q2, Q3 and Q4
2010 shows that the underground mine hoisted more tonnage quarter after
quarter, indicating that the program put in place during the first half of
2010 by ABG to improve production from underground is progressively giving
positive results", said Serge Bureau, President and CEO of MDN Inc.
Tulawaka production results (reflected as 100%)
Three months ended Twelve months ended
31 December 31 December
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(in$ '000)
(Unaudited) 2010 2009 2010 2009
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Underground ore tonnes
hoisted Kt 56 16 147 118
Ore milled Kt 117 120 486 445
Head grade g/t 4.8 5.4 4.1 7.0
Mill recovery % 93.2% 93.7% 93.2% 94.1%
Ounces produced oz 16,973 19,637 60,134 94,180
Ounces sold oz 19,295 21,748 63,908 93,412
About MDN
MDN Inc. (TSX:MDN - News) is a mining
exploration and development company with exploration and development projects
in Quebec and Tanzania. MDN also remains active in the search for new
business opportunities that can increase shareholder value. In addition to
its 30% participating interest in the Tulawaka gold
mine, MDN is the operator and owner of a majority interest in mineral
licenses totalling 767km(2) in the vicinity of the Tulawaka mine. MDN Inc. also owns a 67.5% interest in Crevier Minerals Inc. which in turn owns an NI 43-101
niobium-tantalum resource in the Lac-Saint-Jean area of Quebec. MDN has an
option to increase its equity participation in Crevier
Minerals Inc. to a maximum of 87.5%. Additional information is available on
MDN's website at www.mdn-mines.com.
Forward looking statements
All statements in this release, other
than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that
the Company expects to occur, are forward looking statements. Although the
Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, 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 are
discussed in greater detail in the Company's most recent Annual Information
Form filed on SEDAR, which also provides additional general assumptions in
connection with these statements. Investors and others who base themselves on
the Company's forward-looking statements should carefully consider the
factors mentioned in the Annual Information Form as well as the uncertainties
they represent and the risk they entail. The Company 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.
Contact:
Serge Bureau, P.Eng.
MDN Inc.
President and CEO
514-866-6500, ext. 221 |