TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 15, 2011) - Lydian International Ltd. (News - Market indicators) ("Lydian" or "the Company"), a gold-focused mineral exploration and development company, today announced that it has completed its trade-off study and commenced detailed engineering work which will be conducted in parallel with the ongoing bankable feasibility study (BFS) and resource development work at its Amulsar gold project in Armenia. Amulsar is a high-sulfidation style gold project which currently hosts a CIM compliant combined Indicated and Inferred Category Resource of 2.5 million ounces at 1.0g/t gold (1.1 million ounces at 1.1g/t gold in the Indicated Category and 1.4 million ounces at 0.9g/t gold in the Inferred Category). This resource remains open in all directions including at depth.
Lydian's Amulsar BFS is being prepared by the following internationally recognized consortium of companies:
KD Engineering – Process Plant Design, Financials and Overall Report Compilation
Golder Associates International – Leach Pad/Pond Design
Independent Mining Consultants – Geological Resource& Mine Design
Wardell Armstrong International – Environment and Social Aspects
Following the company's Preliminary Economic Assessment (see press release July 25th, 2011) KD Engineering has completed a trade-off study and the major components of open-pit mine design are now defined. This mine design is staged to accommodate a growing resource with the main components as follows:
- Open pit
- Mining fleet (hydraulic excavators and haul trucks)
- Two parallel 3-stage crushing lines
- Overland ore conveyor
- Heap leach facility (including leach pad/ponds/ADR plant)
- Site Infrastructure
Detailed engineering, the BFS and a new resource update will be dove-tailed into one definitive study in the first half of 2012 so that the Company can commence gold production as soon as possible at Amulsar.
"Our aim is to start pouring gold as soon as we can at Amulsar" said Tim Coughlin, Lydian's President and CEO "the simple geology, favorable topography, very good metallurgy and easy access to infrastructure are clearly favorable and mean that developing an optimal mine-design which can accommodate an increasing gold resource is relatively straight forward. We are fortunate in this sense as this now means that the overall time-line to production is shorter than might be expected for more complicated and perhaps more remote mining projects".
About Lydian International
Lydian is a gold-focused mineral exploration and development company with expertise employing "first mover" strategies in emerging exploration environments. Currently Lydian is focused on Eastern Europe and on developing its flagship Amulsar gold project in Armenia. The Amulsar group of licenses is wholly owned by Lydian's Armenian subsidiary (Geoteam CJSC). Lydian also has a pipeline of promising early-stage gold and base metal exploration projects in the Caucasus regions.
Lydian's management team has a track record of success in grassroots discovery, in acquiring and developing undervalued assets, and in building companies. Lydian has a strong social agenda and a unique understanding of the complex social and political issues that characterize emerging environments. The Company's significant shareholders include the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is a member of the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). More information can be found on Lydian's web site at www.lydianinternational.co.uk.
Dr Tim Coughlin, BSc, MSc (Exploration and Mining), PhD, MAusIMM; is the Qualified Person overseeing Lydian's exploration programs. Dr. Coughlin has supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this press release.
Lydian employees are instructed to follow standard operating and quality assurance procedures intended to ensure that all sampling techniques and sample results meet international reporting standards. All assay work for the released results was carried out by ALS Chemex analytical laboratory in Rosia Montana, Romania. More information can be found on Lydian's web site at www.lydianinternational.co.uk.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release may contain certain information that constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices and other factors described above and in the Company's most recent annual information form under the heading "Risk Factors" which has been filed electronically by means of the Canadian Securities Administrators' website located at www.sedar.com. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
