-- Posted Thursday, 17 September 2009 | Digg This Article
| | Source: GoldSeek.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - 09/17/09) - Timmins Gold Corp (TSX-V:TMM - News) announces that it has completed production testing activities at its San Francisco gold project in Mexico. The San Francisco mine is now initiating ramp up to full production. Working capital for ongoing operations will be funded from the previously announced debt financing which the Company expects to complete shortly.
The first gold pour is scheduled by January, 2010. The San Francisco gold project is expected to produce in excess of 80,000 ounces of gold per year, at an average cash cost of USD$412 an ounce. Management has confirmed excellent potential to expand the reserves at the San Francisco gold project and has identified new drill targets adjacent to the current pit.
The San Francisco gold project is a past producing open pit mine and heap leaching operation. All plant and equipment necessary for operations are now in place and tested, including crushing, leaching and extraction facilities designed to produce gold and silver dore.
Construction of the brand new USD$12 million secondary and tertiary crushing system began in November of 2008 under contract with Sandvik and has now been tested at loads in excess of the planned processing capacity of 550 metric tonnes per hour. During testing the crushing system was successfully operated at loads in excess of 750 metric tonnes per hour. The increased capacity, if utilized, would result in an increase of capacity from 11,000 metric tonnes per day to 15,000 metric tonnes per day, over a 30% increase in projected throughput, to produce close to 100,000 ounces of gold per year without any additional equipment. In addition the existing primary crusher was fully refurbished by Metso Minerals and tested.
The first 8 hectares of heap leach pads have been constructed and a further 7 hectares are almost complete. Crushed ore totaling approximately 70,000 metric tonnes has been placed on the heap leach pads as part of the initial load.
The Company is presently revising its current mine plan to accomodate the increased capacity of the crushing system and higher metal prices. The current mine plan has been designed at US$650 gold.
The San Francisco gold project is located in the north central portion of the State of Sonora in Mexico, which borders the US state of Arizona, and is approximately 150 km north of the city of Hermosillo, the capital city of Sonora. The project is located approximately 2 km west of Mexican State Highway 15 (the Pan American Highway). The project is fully permitted and receives electrical power from the local grid.
This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements which relate to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expects", "plans, "anticipates", believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggestions herein. Except as required by applicable law, Timmins Gold does not intend to update any forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contact:
Timmins Gold Corp
Bruce Bragagnolo, LLB
Chief Executive Officer
(604) 638-8980
bruce@timminsgold.com
www.timminsgold.com
-- Posted Thursday, 17 September 2009 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
