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Friday, 27 March 2015
Jack McGinn
AFTER taking over management last month A1 Consolidated Gold has poured its first gold bar at its Maldon operation in Victoria, prompting a share price jump of more than 18%.
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Column 1 A1 Consolidated Gold managing director Dennis Clark with the first gold bar produced by the company at Maldon |
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The bar was poured on Wednesday from the processing of low-grade stockpiled ore and weighed 146.3 ounces.
Its production follows a recently completed mill improvement program which upgraded and repaired several areas of the mill to allow for processing of higher tonnages and grades.
Meanwhile, A1 has developed and mined its first narrow vein stope between the 1080 and 1100 levels of its Alliance South deposit at the same operation.
The stope is between 1m and 1.5m wide and was developed on a gold-bearing reef over its full distance. The reef is strong at the southern end of the stope and will be developed further
Processing of ore mined from the narrow vein will supplement the low grade ore being treated at the moment.
A1 managing director Dennis Clark said the developments at Maldon were significant for the company’s development.
“This is a major milestone for our company,” he said.
“In the two months since we took management control of the Maldon gold operation we have implemented our mill improvement program on time and on budget, we have developed the first narrow vein stope at the Alliance South deposit, and now we have produced our first gold bar.
“With this achievement under our belt, I’m looking forward to ongoing cash flow that will help fund the commencement of production mining at the A1 gold mine. This is our primary objective which, with our updated stage one scoping study projecting all-in sustaining cost (C3) of $849 per ounce, will establish A1 Consolidated Gold as a profitable junior gold producer.”
A1 executed a sale agreement to acquire the Maldon gold operation from Octagonal Resources for $A5.1 million in shares during December 2014.
The deal allows A1 to use the 1.5 million tonne per annum Maldon plant to process ore from its namesake development to the southeast, removing the need to construct a new plant there.
A1 began processing at Maldon during February under a management agreement, and will run the operation as it works towards the completion of its agreement with Octagonal.
Shares in A1 Consolidated were up 18.7% this morning at 3.8c.[/table]
