Mr.
'Today's changes are consistent with the Company's transition to a culture of operational excellence,' stated
PureGold Mine Update
Since
'The PureGold Mine is a high-grade deposit in a strategic location with exciting exploration potential that was advanced rapidly from exploration through to commercial production at a time when few other mines were being built. It is an incredible achievement, especially during a pandemic,' commented
'I have been immersed in all facets of the operation with the goal of getting the mine profitable in the near-term and ensuring that the culture is one that fosters operational excellence for the long-term. Given the changes underway, I am confident that we will be successful going forward.
Reconciliation and Planning & Scheduling Improvements
Mined grades have been reconciling well with the Mineral Reserve1 for stopes within the Mineral Reserve envelope to date. The mill has demonstrated capability of operating consistently and reliably at and above its design capacity of 800 tpd on multiple occasions. The key challenge to date has been maintaining access to enough high-confidence, high-grade stopes to provide high-grade ore to the mill. Shortages of high-grade ore at various times have led to blending of low-grade development material and stockpiles which has reduced the overall feed grade to the mill. These shortages were caused by a combination of factors including development delays, insufficient scheduling flexibility, insufficient geologic information available for stopes prior to mining, equipment downtime, and strategic misalignments.
Significant changes to mine planning and scheduling were implemented during the fourth quarter of 2021 to address these underlying causes, with early signs of positive progress evident in December's operating results. These changes include reorganization of information and workflow structures, resulting in enhanced accountability and reduced assay turnaround times. Additionally, definition drilling activity has been expanded, which will provide mine planners with better information in a timely manner leading to improved stope designs and enhanced scheduling flexibility. Finally, a geologic confidence-based model was implemented to standardize decision making and improve mine scheduling and planning. Together, these changes are expected to drive sustainable increases in both ore throughput and head grade, though will require more time to fully implement.
Although these changes only took effect as recently as mid-November, improved performance was already evident at year-end, and significant room for continued improvement remains. For the month of December, the
Cost Reduction Initiatives
In addition to improved mining practices, various cost reduction and efficiency enhancement initiatives have been implemented. The recent focus has been on streamlining functional leadership and driving direct accountability across the organization to ensure the impacts are long-lasting.
Several senior manager roles have been eliminated, resulting in reduced site G&A costs. The Company expects to continue to explore and implement additional cost saving opportunities in 2022. A new crushing and hauling contract was awarded in November, which has reduced material handling costs by 25%. A new agreement is being negotiated with
Inexpensive upgrades are being made to the gravity circuit. They are expected to increase gravity recovery by 10-15% and overall gold recoveries by 1-2%. This will also reduce operating costs by reducing cyanide dosages (consumption) in leaching, carbon in carbon-in-pulp (CIP), and metabisulfite/copper sulfate in the detox circuit.
A consignment program for critical parts with various vendors has been implemented, which will keep inventory costs down and equipment availability and productivity high.
A camp has been sourced and will be installed near the mine early in Q1 2022, significantly improving PureGold's ability to attract and retain top talent, while reducing costs of accommodation and travel. Occupancy is planned for
As ore throughput and grade increase in conjunction with the ongoing cost reduction initiatives, the Company expects cash costs and all-in sustaining costs to trend steadily and significantly downward throughout 2022.
Outlook
As these and several other operational improvement initiatives continue to be implemented, the mine is targeting production in the range of 600-700 tonnes per day (60%-70% of mill capacity) for the first quarter of 2022 and will ramp up gradually from there as access to high-confidence, high-grade stopes increases. Average head grades are expected to initially be in the range of 5.0-7.0 g/t Au and are also expected to increase steadily as the growing drilled inventory allows for better stope scheduling and increasing stope access allows for increased ore mining rates on a sustained basis.
Of note, mining in 2021 was almost exclusively in the
About
PureGold is a Canadian gold mining company, located in the very heart of
Contact:
Tel: 604-809-6890
Email: aobrien@puregoldmining.ca
Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures
The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures in this new release. Refer to the Company's MD&A for an explanation of non-IFRS measures. The Company believes that these measures, in addition to measures prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS'), provide readers with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company and to compare it to information reported by other companies. The non-IFRS measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are 'forward-looking information' with respect to PureGold within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to statements with respect to those that address proposed timing of development plans for the
Such forward-looking information, involves known and unknown risks, which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, risks related to the interpretation of results at the
Although PureGold has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. PureGold disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.
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