| Richmont Mines (RIC-T) starts commercial production at W zone gold project has successfully completed the three-month preproduction phase. Commercial production was declared on Oct. 1, 2013. W zone is expected to produce an estimated 3,000 ounces of commercial gold production for the corporation during the fourth quarter of 2013, and a projected 12,000 ounces of commercial gold production in 2014. The W zone mine is an underground operation accessed via a ramp on the corporation's Beaufor mine property, 25 kilometres northeast of Val d'Or, Que. Ore from the mine is trucked approximately 50 kilometres to the corporation's Camflo mill in Malartic, Que. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the W zone mine had probable reserves of 132,251 tonnes grading 7.21 grams per tonne, for 30,680 ounces of gold, indicated resources of 107,511 tonnes grading 6.76 grams per tonne, for 23,377 ounces of gold, and an additional 5,589 tonnes of inferred resources grading 7.95 grams per tonne, for 1,429 ounces of gold.Paul Carmel, president and chief executive officer of Richmont, commented: "We are very pleased to announce that the W zone mine has been transitioned into our producing asset portfolio, and that our capital investment over the past several years will now begin to generate cash flow for the corporation. The additional 5,000 tonnes per month from this asset will translate into efficiency improvements and lower unit cost levels at our Camflo mill, which is currently operating at full capacity with material from our Beaufor, W zone and Monique operations." |
