4 June 2009
RECORD MONTHLY GOLD
PRODUCTION OF 20,457oz FROM TRIDENT
Highlights
?
Avoca produced 20,457 ounces from its Trident
underground gold mine in the month of May.
?
Reconciled treatment for May from the Higginsville
plant was 105,841 tonnes at 6.2 g/t gold. Gold recovery of 97.6% is also
a new monthly record.
?
The 1005 Level Western Zone stope
contributed 37,088 tonnes (or 36% of the mill feed) at a grade of 8.5 g/t gold.
ASX 200 mid-tier gold producer, Avoca Resources Ltd (ASX:AVO),
is pleased to announce a new monthly production record from its Trident underground
gold mine, located south of Kalgoorlie in Western
Australia.
During the month of May 105,841 tonnes at 6.2 g/t gold
was processed for production of 20,457 ounces, with gold recovery of 97.6%. Several
ore sources from Trident contributed to May?s mill feed with the major mining locations being:
1005 Level Western Zone (36%), 1041 Level Western Zone (23%), development
headings from Western Zone, Eos and Athena (17%); surface stocks (10%) and
Athena stoping (6%). Miscellaneous sources
comprised 8% of the mill feed. Importantly the reconciled grade for the
dominant 1005 Level Western Zone stope was 8.5 g/t
gold.
Avoca Managing Director, Mr Rohan
Williams, said ?this is an excellent performance from
Trident and our management team at Higginsville. It is very rewarding to see
record production grades well in excess of the Trident reserve grade together
with record plant recoveries at almost 98%. We look forward to continuing the
strong production performance we know the mine is capable of.?
Mr Williams added that Avoca remained confident it
would produce 180,000 ounces in financial year 2009/2010, at cash costs of
approximately A$450 per ounce.
For further information please contact:
Avoca Resources: Rohan Williams, 08 9226 0625
Purple
Communications: Warrick
Hazeldine, 08 6314 6300 / 0417 944
616
Please Note:
Not for dissemination in
the United States, or over U.S.
newswire services.
Avoca
Background
Avoca
is an ASX 200 gold mining and exploration company
based in Perth, Western
Australia. Avoca has grown rapidly since its listing in
2002, and its acquisition of the Higginsville exploration project in 2004,
located 130km south of Kalgoorlie.
Following the discovery of the
Trident underground gold mine at Higginsville in late 2004, and the subsequent
construction of the Higginsville Gold Project which included a new 1 million tonne per annum CIL treatment facility built on time and
under budget; it poured its first gold bar on 1 July 2008. The time taken
from exploration project acquisition to gold pour was exactly four years.
Presently, Trident is Western Australia?s third largest underground
gold mine and has recently commenced mining the thick and high grade 1005
level, which has contributed to record gold production levels. Avoca
remains confident it will produce 180,000 ounces of gold in FY2010 at a cash
cost of A$450 per ounce (not including royalties).
Avoca has a highly credentialed management
team with considerable expertise in exploration, project development and
underground mining. Avoca?s managing director, Rohan Williams, has more than 15 years experience in the
region having worked as a geologist at the +15 million ounce St Ives field
immediately north of Higginsville, and the +6 million ounce Norseman field
immediately to the south.
The Avoca Board is confident that
its management team will continue to expand and develop the existing 1.45
million ounce Higginsville resource base into realising
its goal of a +10 year mine life for Higginsville.
Issued by
Purple
Communications
Level 3, 28
Kings Park Road, WEST PERTH
WA 6005
Ph: 08 6314 6300 Fax: 08 6314 6355
purple@purplecom.com.au