Archipelago announces arrival of processing equipment at Sulawesi gold project

London Stock Exchange-listed mining firm Archipelago Resources plc announced Wednesday that the processing equipment purchased from Barrick in Chile had arrived on site at its Toka Tindung Gold Project in North Sulawesi.

The plant totalling 2,080 tonnes was shipped to Indonesia in part on a specialised carrier and also in containers.

The company said civil earth-works were completed late last year and will re-commence together with pre-strip mining operations in April 2007. Construction of concrete foundations continues on schedule and on the 30th November a single pour of 270 cubic metres of concrete was undertaken for the ball mill foundations. Foundation works will continue into February.

Steel fabrication contracts have been let for much of the plant and fabricated components will arrive progressively at site in the first half of this year.

The Toka Tindung Gold Project has a resource of 1.7M ounces (ozs) of gold, of which at least 0.9M ozs will initially be mineable by open pit. The project is targeted to commence production at the rate of 150,000 ozs per annum increasing to a target of 160,000 ozs per annum in subsequent years. Subject to continuing construction progress, production remains on schedule to commence in the third quarter of 2007.

Archipelago has 85 percent stake at Toka Tindung.(alex)