Attention Business Editors:
GOLD RESERVE ANNOUNCES FAVORABLE MODIFICATIONS TO BRISAS PRE-FEASIBILITY REPORT
SPOKANE, Wash., Sept. 30 /CNW/ - Gold Reserve Corporation (TSE: GLR -
NASDAQ: GLDR) of Spokane, WA announces modifications to the Brisas
pre-feasibility report which include 1) a revised mine operating plan,
resulting in a 7 percent reduction in cash operating cost to $206 per ounce of
gold, net of copper credit and, 2) an on-site copper production process
coupled with the revised mine operating plan, resulting in a 24 percent
reduction in cash operating cost to $169 per ounce of gold, net of copper
credit.
Rockne J. Timm, President & CEO stated, ''The cash operating costs
contemplated by the revised mine plan and the on-site copper production would
place Brisas among the lowest cost gold mines in the world. In respect to the
prospects of on-site copper production, the economics of treating the Brisas
concentrates by the Cominco Engineering Services Ltd. (CESL)
hydrometallurgical process appears favorable. We are very excited about this
proposed copper production process, however additional analysis of the process
is required and sample preparation for testwork has already commenced. We are
continuing to evaluate modifications to the mine operating plan, the on-site
copper production method and the potential positive impact on the project
economics.''
The supplement to the pre-feasibility report, more limited in scope than
the original pre-feasibility report, was prepared by the Company and JE
Mincorp, a Denver, Colorado-based division of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
(NYSE:JEC) of Pasadena, CA. Below is a table of the key assumptions and
parameters comparing the original pre-feasibility report and the two new
alternatives:
<<
Pre- On-site
Feasibility Copper
Study Revised Production
U.S. $ (March 98) Mine Plan and Revised
Mine Plan
-----------------------------------
Pit design gold price ($/oz.) $375 $335 $335
Pit design copper price ($/lb.) $1.00 $.90 $.90
Mine cut-off grade (grams of gold
per tonne) 0.40 0.50 0.50
Mineralized deposit (mm tonnes) 249 200 200
Mineralized deposit (mm gold ozs.) 5.6 5.0 5.0
Gold grade (grams/tonne) 0.70 0.77 0.77
Copper grade % 0.14 0.14 0.14
Throughput (tonnes/day) 55,000 55,000 55,000
Average annual gold production (oz.) 335,000 362,000 362,000
Average annual copper production
(mm lbs.) 38 39 39
Strip ratio (waste to ore) 1.68:1 1.97:1 1.97:1
Mine life (Years) 14.2 11.5 11.5
Initial capital cost (mm) $293 $299 $344
Working capital (mm) $15 $20 $20
Ongoing capital (mm) $53 $42 $42
Total cash operating cost (per tonne) $6.28 $6.40 $5.78
Operating cash cost (per oz.)(x) $222 $206 $169
Total capital and operating costs
(per oz.)(xx) $295 $288 $262
>>
(x) Net of copper credit
(xx) Pre tax and independent of costs incurred to-date
In addition to the modifications to the pre-feasibility report, the
company is continuing with metallurgical testing and ore reserve modeling. An
update to the mine model, which will be verified by an independent engineering
firm, is expected later this year. The Company is proceeding with the
completion of the final feasibility study expected next year.
The Brisas mineralized deposit does not yet qualify as a commercially
mineable ore body under standards promulgated by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission and may so qualify only after a positive comprehensive
economic, technical and legal final feasibility study has been completed. |
