| Mon 25 Feb 2008, 10:05 | | SIM - Simmers` Gets Mpumalanga Mining Rights Firs |
|
SIM
SIIF
SIM - Simmers` Gets Mpumalanga Mining Rights, First New Generation Heap Leach
Project At Elandsdrift Approved
SIMMER AND JACK MINES LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1924/007778/06)
Share code: SIM
ISIN: ZAE000006722
("Simmers")
SIMMERS` GETS MPUMALANGA MINING RIGHTS
FIRST NEW GENERATION HEAP LEACH PROJECT AT ELANDSDRIFT APPROVED
Simmer & Jack Mines, Limited (Simmers) today announced that its Mpumalanga-based
subsidiary, Transvaal Gold Mining Estates Limited (TGME), has been granted the
mining rights for the Frankfort group of farms and the heap leach operation at
Elandsdrift.
The Mining Rights for these farms will be executed on 18 March 2008 by the
Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) upon completion of the relevant
paperwork.
The granting of the Mining Right at Elandsdrift is an essential first step in
Simmers` plan to revive the Pilgrim`s Rest/ Sabie goldfields. Simmers is
currently engaged in an exploration project to bring low grade surface deposits
such as those at Elandsdrift to account by using heap leach technology. This
mining method is used successfully by some of the largest low-cost gold mines in
the world to recover gold from low-grade deposits in an environmentally
responsible manner.
"We`ve done the test work and we`ve found that the low grade gold from these
surface oxide deposits leaches very well, yielding good recoveries. This opens
up a whole new avenue of mining in this goldfield," said Gordon Miller, chief
executive of Simmers.
"In addition to being low-cost and low-risk, heap leach technology requires no
Eskom-generated power and provides good rehabilitation prospects compared to
conventional, deep level mining. We are working in an area that has been
substantially disturbed by mining and forestry, and the heap leach option
provides us with excellent rehabilitation prospects afterwards," said Miller.
He added that the Company was grateful for the constructive input from a number
of authorities as well as the local community, which has paved the way for
future heap leach projects in the area: "As a result of the input from all
interested parties, we have developed a world-class design based on best-
practice operating parameters for the sustainable development of heap leach
projects which we believe will have significant economic benefits for the
region."
The Elandsdrift heap leach pad is a pilot project designed to confirm the
metallurgical parameters of the extraction process on a 300 000 ton sand dump.
The sand is the result of old mining operations in the area and was dumped near
a watercourse. In terms of a rehabilitation programme conducted in conjunction
with the landowners, the sand was removed from the river bed and placed on the
purpose-built leach pad, in anticipation of the mining right being granted.
Recoveries are estimated at 0.76 g/t with a total production forecast of 5852
ounces (182 kilograms). The Company anticipates that it will take until the end
of June 2008 to complete the construction of the site and load the remaining
tailings onto the pad.
The leaching process is expected to begin in July 2008 with the first gold
production forecast for October 2008.
"The revenue from Elandsdrift will provide necessary income during the 15 month
period necessary to acquire and commission the BIOX process and thus facilitate
the development of TGME`s extensive underground resources," said Miller.
In addition to the surface deposits, TGME currently has underground resources of
979 000 ounces in the Measured and Indicated category, of which 392 000 ounces
are Reserve ounces, as per the preliminary independent technical report.
Elandsdrift is one of four pilot heap leach pads that the Company has planned to
commission in the next three years as part of a feasibility study to confirm the
potential for surface mining in the area. The other heap leach targets sites are
Glynns Lydenburg in Sabie, Hermansburg and a site designated as DG 2, near
Pilgrim`s Rest.
A mining application for the processing of the Glynn`s Lydenburg tailings dam
has already been accepted by the DME.
"Production from the four pilot heap leach pads averages at just under 14 000
ounces per year, based solely on what has been defined to date," said Miller.
Simmers is still in the early stages of a large exploration project in the area
that has thus far delineated 133 312 ounces of compliant heap leach resources at
a cost of US$29.82/oz.
"The costs to process these ounces - including capital and operating costs - are
currently estimated to be US$360 /oz. These costs are based purely on the four
pilot projects which do not have the benefits of economies of scale which will
become evident as ongoing drilling adds more ounces to the existing mineral
resources," says Miller.
The results of the feasibility study are scheduled for March 2009, with a pre-
feasibility due out by March this year.
Overseeing these developments will be Danny Jacobs, who takes over from Mark
Glasspool as general manager at TGME following Glasspool`s transfer to
Buffelsfontein Gold Mine. Jacobs has over 30 years` experience in the mining
industry, mostly in the Free State gold fields.
Johannesburg
25 February 2008
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
GAIL STRAUSS ON +27 (0) 84 777 4060
gail@simmers.co.za
www.simmers.co.za
Date: 25/02/2008 10:05:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the
JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or
implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or
completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers,
employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature,
howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
