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9 October 2009
50,584 OUNCE
Q1 PRODUCTION FROM TRIDENT AT A$428 CASH OPERATING COSTS1
Highlights
? Strong September quarter
production of 50,584 ounces from the Trident underground gold mine.
? Site cash operating costs at
Higginsville of A$428 per ounce1.
? Avoca remains on target for
190,000+ ounce production in FY2010 at estimated cash operating costs of A$452
per ounce1.
ASX 200 mid-tier gold producer, Avoca Resources Ltd (ASX:AVO),
is pleased to announce that it produced 50,584 ounces from its Trident
underground gold mine during the September quarter. Trident lies within
Avoca?s 100% owned Higginsville Gold Project located 130km south of Kalgoorlie
in Western Australia?s
Eastern Gold fields.
Cash operating costs for the Trident production during the
September quarter amounted to A$428 per ounce1. Revenue for
the 49,517 ounces sold during the quarter was A$1,158 per ounce.
Total plant throughput for the September quarter was
314,463t @ 5.2 g/t gold for 50,584 recovered ounces. Plant recovery
remained very high at 97.3%. High grade mined production from
Trident during the quarter was 281,801 tonnes at 5.7 g/t gold. The
difference between total plant throughput and mined production from Trident was
due to treating 32,662 tonnes of stockpiled low grade material.
Avoca?s Managing Director, Mr Rohan Williams, said ?the
September quarter was another very strong quarter for Avoca following the
52,803 ounce June quarter. Both the Trident mine and the Higginsville
treatment plant are operating above the 1 million tonne per annum design rates
with the plant significantly exceeding design with current rates of 1.25
million tonnes per annum. We remain confident that Avoca will achieve its
production guidance of 190,000+ ounces at a cash operating cost of A$452 per
ounce.?
Avoca will release its September quarterly report
detailing all activities and results later in October.
For further information please contact:
Avoca
Resources: Rohan
Williams, 08 9226 0625
Purple Communications: Warrick
Hazeldine, 08 6314 6300 / 0417 944 616
Footnotes:
1. Cash operating
costs reported are exclusive of royalties which for the September quarter
amounted to A$128 per ounce.
Avoca Background
Avoca is an ASX 200 gold mining
and exploration company based in Perth,
Western Australia. Avoca has grown
rapidly since its listing in 2002, and its acquisition of the Higginsville
exploration project in 2004, located 130km south of Kalgoorlie.
In the period of just four years
following its acquisition of Higginsville, Avoca discovered the Trident ore
deposit, completed a feasibility study, commenced mine development, constructed
and commissioned a new 1 million tonne per annum CIL treatment facility
(built on time and under budget) and poured its first gold bar.
Presently, Trident is Western
Australia?s third largest underground gold mine and is
forecasting gold production of 190,000+ ounces in FY2010 at an operating cash
cost of A$452 per ounce (not including royalties).
Avoca has a highly credentialed
management team with considerable expertise in exploration, project development
and underground mining. Avoca?s managing director, Rohan
Williams, has more than 15 years experience in the region.
The Avoca Board is confident that
its management team will continue to expand and develop the existing 1.45
million ounce Higginsville resource base into realising its goal of a +10 year
mine life for Higginsville.