MDN Inc.: Tulawaka Mine Produces 20,493 Ounces of Gold During the First Quarter of 2009
14:48 EDT Wednesday, April 29, 2009
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - April 29, 2009) - MDN Inc. ("MDN") (TSX:MDN) is pleased to announce that the Tulawaka Gold Mine in Tanzania produced 20,493 ounces of gold during the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. Tulawaka gold production now amounts to 674,860 ounces since the beginning of operations in March 2005.
For the first quarter, 20,881 ounces of gold were sold into the spot market at an average price of US$906 for total sales of US$18.9M. Since the beginning of operations in March 2005, a total of 666,959 ounces of gold was sold.
For the first quarter, a total of 34,911 tonnes were mined from the underground mine at an average mine grade of 11.27 g/t gold whereas the plant facilities processed 101,974 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 6.7 g/t gold and at a gold recovery rate of 93.3%. The difference in tonnage comes from the stockpile at the plant.
"The fact that the underground operations at Tulawaka are still in development and therefore limit our access to known mineral zones explains the use of low-grade ore stockpiled near the mill and the low tonnage mined underground", said Paul-A. Girard, President and CEO of MDN.
Total cash costs averaged US$418 to produce an ounce of gold during the first quarter of 2009. The ROM (Run of Mine) stockpiles at quarter end were 402,122 tonnes at an average grade of 2.72 g/t gold, representing approximately 12 months ore supply for the process plant, assuming the current throughput of 32,000 tonnes processed per month due to the hardness of the rock on the stockpiles.
Paul-A. Girard, President and CEO of MDN stated: "The production level and mining operations of the underground mine for the quarter are as planned. Indeed, approximately 35% of the tonnes processed come from the underground mine which produces a better grade than the stockpiles used to fulfill the production capacity of the mill. The tonnes processed from the underground mine should improve quantitatively in the upcoming months and given the challenge related to the beginning of the underground operations, we are pleased with the results and remain optimistic towards the mining plan aimed at increasing the reserves and resources, and expanding the mine life."
The Tulawaka Gold Mine is owned and operated by Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick"), through its Tanzanian subsidiary Pangea Minerals Ltd. Pursuant to a Joint Venture Agreement Barrick has 70% participating interest and MDN has 30% participating interest in the Tulawaka Gold Mine. The information disclosed on the Tulawaka Gold Mine is based on information provided by the Operator.
MDN Inc. is a Montreal-based Canadian exploration company that holds a 30% participation in the Tulawaka Gold Mine (Tanzania). Its main exploration activities are carried out in Quebec through gold and base metal interests and in Tanzania through a majority interest in 35 mineral licenses, adjacent to the Tulawaka gold mine.
For more information, please visit www.mdn-mines.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
MDN Inc.
Paul-A. Girard
President and Chief Executive Officer
514-866-6500
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