Mongolia progresses with Ghengis Murphy, (cousin of Murphy's Law) stalking us at every step. Fortunately, we have quite a talented and dedicated team, because I really believe lesser mortals would have given-up long ago. The mill foundation have been set, and the major pieces of equipment were being placed. Next the pads and lighter foundation work will be completed and the building erected. The mine has been developed like clockwork, and the entire vein has been stripped so that a 20 foot bench of quartz vein is exposed. Naturally, visible gold is present which gives the construction crew a bit of a morale boast. The production date is still dependent upon the weather and construction delays. Today we'll still stick to that nebulous date of "autumn, 1996". We intend to produce gold in 1996, but are caught between the "produce the gold for show" mentality, and the more conservative "tune the mill-up with low grade ore" approach. Our anticiapated direct operating costs, including exploration expense will be $126 per ounce. The mill is planned to operate at 300 tonnes per day, but in Colorado it was operated at 500 tons per day. We have the ability to put 400 tonnes per day through without any bottle necks. Clearly, this will be one of our first goals.
There are other oportunities in Mongolia that are staggering. The big problem is getting your hands on them. We have been trying for over 18 months to land another exploration license with no success. A new government was elected in June, and things appear to be changing. I'm off to Mongolia on Thursday, and hopefully will return with signed contracts. The biggest potential appears to be Carlin-style or Nevada-style gold deposits. Our work has identified large areas of prospective geology with great geochemistry. Landsat images look good. With luck.....
Great Bear has been good to us. The Glacier Project has come in with a large, alteration zone within a collapsed caldera complex. Hydrothermal alteration is extensive within the complexes. Gold mineralization is associated with copper, silver, and trace bismuth in quartz stockworks, veinlettes, and fractures over extensive areas. Grade of the veins routinely runs to several ounces per ton, but the fracture density suggests that we may have a bulk minable target here.
Diamonds is on hold while our neighbours evaluate their work. Both Archon and GMD have spent more than a few bucks in the past 12 months, and their efforts aill not be lost on us.
Mongolia Gold's cash reserves are sufficient to see us into production, and accomodate more of Murphy's doings. We could use additional funds if the Glacier, Diamond, or Voisey's Bay projects demand a significant expenditure.
I hope this is what you need to know, or what you would like to hear.
Dave |
