Archipelago pours first gold at N. Sulawesi gold project

UK gold miner Archipelago Resources plc announced that it has poured first gold at it's 95% owned Toka Tindung Gold Project in North Sulawasi.

?This milestone marks the commencement of production at the Project. It was achieved one day after the target date of the end of March 2011 and within the project finance budget,? the company said.

While some construction activities not essential to the first gold pour remain to be completed at or peripheral to the processing site, all of the major items of ore processing equipment have been successfully commissioned including the oversized crusher and mills acquired from the El Tambo gold mine in Chile. The plant is operating in line with expectations for start-up and throughput will be steadily increased in accordance with the company's ramp up schedule, it added.

The mining operation is well advanced despite substantial recent rainfall and the company currently has approximately 85,000 tonnes of 'run of mine' (ROM) ore, currently representing approximately 3 weeks production, stockpiled on the crusher ROM pad.

Dor? ingots comprising approximately 70% gold and 30% silver will be produced in the gold room at site and shipped to the LME certified Logam Mulia refinery in Jakarta, where refined gold of 99.99% purity and silver of 99.9% purity is produced.

The Toka Tindung Gold Project has a resource of 1.7 million ounces of which 1.1m will be minable by way of open pit mining. It is targeting production of 110,000 ozs of gold equivalent in calendar year 2011, with an annual average production of 160,000 ozs of gold equivalent over the first 6 years of the initial 8 year project life.

The cmpany will spend US$30m of project generated cash on an exploration program to be undertaken over the next two years. The number of drill rigs will double from 2 to 4 in the second quarter and the first batch of assay results are expected to be available and approved for release in early Q2 2011.(romel)