Mundo
Minerals Limited (ASX: MUN)
ASX
RELEASE
17 AUGUST 2007
August 2007 Project Progress Report
Update regarding
Engenho Project Progress and Earthquake in Peru
·
Engenho continues
to remain on progress to commence production on or before second quarter 2008.
·
All budgetary
expectations with respect to Engenho continue to be within expectations or
below budget
·
Strong progress has
been made on development of project infrastructure
·
Earthquake in Peru
causes no damage to Torrecillas gold project and no personnel injuries
·
Diamond drilling to
commence at Tocantins in September
·
Review of resource
potential on all corporate assets currently in progress
Engenho Gold Project , Brazil
Mundo Minerals advises that all major capital items
associated with the development of the Engenho project including underground
mining equipment have been sourced and are within or below anticipated
budgetary expectations. The crusher has been constructed, all site works have
been completed and it is anticipated that the crusher will be moved to site
within the next two weeks.
Refurbishment of the ball mill is currently being
commissioned. As part of the refurbishment, an enhanced capacity motor has been
included to allow for an anticipated increase in production capacity subject to
exploration on advanced exploration targets on the Engenho tenements.
Construction of the tailings dam is well advanced and is
anticipated to be completed by mid October.
Commencement of mining activities is scheduled to commence
in October 2007 as anticipated. All underground mining equipment except the
jumbo has been sourced as second hand with appropriate engineering reports
prepared for each piece of equipment. A new jumbo has been ordered and is
expected to be delivered by the second week of October 2007. This will not
impair the mining schedule. Significant savings of anticipated capital costs
associated with the underground mining equipment have been achieved.
All key mining personnel have been recruited and are working
with the company on developing the Engenho gold project.
Torrecillas Gold Project, Peru
As announced in the media, Peru experienced a substantial
earthquake on 15 August 2007. A review of the Torrecillas gold project has
shown that there is no damage incurred from the earthquake and no injuries have
been sustained by any personnel at the mine site or in Lima.
A contract has been let with an experienced mining
contractor for the development of the decline to access the vein structures at
Torrecillas to allow the extent of mineralization to be assessed and a
preliminary resource to be delineated prior to commencement of commercial
production from the Torrecillas gold project. Cost of development has been
negotiated at approximately US$760 per development metre compared to a
development cost of in excess of A$4000 per metre experienced in Australia.
The decline will be developed on a 4 x 4.5 metre infrastructure. The contractor
is an experienced contractor and work practices will be comparable to those
experienced in Australia.
Asset Review
As a result of additional information being reviewed at all
assets currently being developed by Mundo Minerals, a revised assessment is currently
being completed on the resource potential of each asset. Early assessments
indicate that there is a positive reassessment of the resource potential from
each asset. The review has not been completed and it is expected that a market
update will be available within the next three weeks. It is seen as appropriate
to provide some market guidance to this update early given the current market
volatility and investment decisions being made by investors.
John Langford
Chief Executive Officer
Background Information
Mundo Minerals Limited is an Australian gold company focused
on the exploration and development of a portfolio of advanced, high-quality
gold assets in South America with the
potential to position the Company as a substantial mid-tier Australiandomiciled
gold production house.
Mundo is aiming to commence initial production at its
flagship asset, the Engenho Gold Project in
Brazil, by March 2008,
laying the foundations for its growth strategy as a mid-tier
Australian-domiciled producer focused on small-to-medium sized high-grade ore
bodies in South America.
The Engenho Project, which is located in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, was previously operated by
AngloGold Ashanti Limited which closed it in 2004 after treating some 171,257
tonnes of ore from an open pit through a conventional Carbon-in- Pulp (CIP)
treatment facility.
Mundo’s other two exploration assets in South America
are the 100%-owned Torrecillas Gold Project in
Peru and the Tocantins Gold Project in Brazil. These projects have the
potential to yield multiple resources to underpin the Company’s longterm
growth.
The Torrecillas Project comprises some 9,000ha of tenements
with a history of high-grade gold production in south-eastern Peru, a region
which hosts a number of small-to-medium sized gold mines, including the Area,
Capitana, Arirahua, Alcapay and Laytaruma operations – each of which have
a production range of 25,000 – 80,000oz per annum.
The Tocantins Project is a joint venture where the Company
has agreed to spend US$1.3M to earn a 51% interest in tenements controlled by
Gamaleira Prospeccao E Geologia Ltda (a Brazilian joint venture between
AngloGold Ashanti
and IAMGOLD Corporation). Mundo can increase this equity to 80% by taking any
gold resource to a bankable feasibility study. The Tocantins
tenements are located in a highly prospective region which
includes three greenstone belts with the potential to contain multiple
mid-size gold deposits.
If you would rather not receive future company
information, please reply to this e-mail with the word "unsubscribe"
in the subject.
READ CORPORATE (incorporating Jan
Hope & Partners)
Public
Relations Corporate Communications
T: (+61-8) 9388-1474 | F: (+61-8) 9388-1472 | E: info@readcorporate.com.au | Web: www.readcorporate.com.au
PLEASE NOTE:
This
e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and/or privileged material
and is for the intended addressee(s) only. If you are not an intended addressee,
you must not use, copy, retain, disclose or distribute this information. Please
notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the message from your
system. If you believe that this message constitutes a Commercial Electronic
Message (CEM) under the Spam Act 2003 and you wish to unsubscribe please
contact the originator of this message with the subject line of unsubscribe.
Note:
Virus scanning is carried out on all incoming and outgoing email, but cannot be
guaranteed to be timely, secure, error or virus-free. To protect against
computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain
types of file attachments. If you are having problems please check your e-mail
security settings to determine how attachments are handled.