VANCOUVER - Great Basin Gold Ltd. ("Great Basin" or the "Company") (TSX: GBG; NYSE Amex: GBG; JSE: GBG) announces that the Burnstone Metallurgical Plant project achieved a major milestone with the first gold pour completed on October 31, 2010.
The successful commissioning of the crushing and grinding circuits as reported earlier have been followed by the commissioning of the gravity concentrate circuit and the first gold pour. The focus has now moved to the CIL circuit which commenced operation during the week of October 25, 2010.
Following the successful licensing of both the rock and personnel winders on October 15, the vertical shaft has commenced with the hoisting of men and material while the final equipping and construction of the shaft surface area is taking place. The rock tip and conveyor on 40 Level will be commissioned later this week, after which the hoisting of ore will commence.
Ferdi Dippenaar, President and CEO, commented: "Good progress continues to be made with the commissioning of the Burnstone Metallurgical Plant. The first gold pour is always a significant milestone and attention has now shifted to the commissioning of the CIL process and the remaining infrastructure. Operationally, the metallurgical plant commissioning has gone well with no major incidents causing significant delays."
Johan Oelofse, Pr.Eng., FSAIMM, Chief Operating Officer of Great Basin and a qualified person, as defined by Canadian regulatory policy, has reviewed and assumed responsibility for the technical information contained in this release.
