| Mon 6 Oct 2008, 16:18 | | SIM - Simmers - First Gold from Elandsdrift expected in December |
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SIM
SIIF
SIM - Simmers - First Gold from Elandsdrift expected in December
SIMMER AND JACK MINES LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1924/007778/06)
Share code: SIM
ISIN: ZAE000006722
("Simmers" or "the company")
FIRST GOLD FROM ELANDSDRIFT EXPECTED IN DECEMBER
Simmer & Jack Mines, Limited (Simmers) announces that its Mpumalanga-based
subsidiary, Transvaal Gold Mining Estates Limited (TGME), has received the go-
ahead to begin mining its new heap leach pad at Elandsdrift, near Sabie. The
leaching process is expected to begin by the end of this month (October) with
the first gold expected in December 2008.
This follows the granting of a Water Use Licence by the Department of Water and
Forestry (DWAF) on Thursday 2 October, 2008. TGME received the mining right for
Elandsdrift in March 2008 subject to a Water Use Licence being issued by DWAF.
The Elandsdrift heap leach pad is a pilot project designed to confirm the
metallurgical parameters of the leach extraction process on a 300 000 tonne sand
dump. Yield is estimated at 0.80 g/t with a total production forecast of 192
kilograms (6 173 ounces) over 14 months at an average operating cost per
kilogram of R35 250 (
US$ 150 /oz).
Heap leach technology is a mining method used successfully by some of the
largest low-cost gold mines in the world to recover gold from low-grade surface
oxide deposits in an environmentally responsible manner.
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 low-cost, low-risk surface mining in the area. Production from the
four pads is expected to yield 80 000 ounces of gold over four years from the
163 000 resource ounces which have been defined to date.
Said Gordon Miller, CEO of Simmer & Jack: "This resource base is expected to
increase even further as a result of our ongoing exploration programme, so the
yield from these four pads is potentially much greater than 80 000 ounces."
The granting of the Water Use Licence brings to an end a protracted licensing
process which began in November 2006, when TGME first applied for the right to
process an old sand dump at Elandsdrift using heap leach technology.
"During this process we interacted extensively with a number of authorities,
regional environmental experts and NGOs and as a result we now have a blue-print
for the permitting of surface projects, from site selection to the granting of
the necessary licences. We`ve received excellent input from the key players in
the area and I am confident that the future permitting of surface and near-
surface projects will proceed in a much more expeditious manner.
"Heap leach technology is a safe and proven environmentally-friendly way of
extracting gold. By treating the surface oxide deposits at TGME in this manner,
we will not only significantly reduce our risk profile, but will also be
contributing to much needed job opportunities in the area," said Miller.
Johannesburg
06 October 2008
Sponsor
Sasfin Capital
(A division of Sasfin Bank Limited)
Date: 06/10/2008 16:18:17 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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