Carpathian processes 119,560 tonnes Au ore in June

2014-07-08 14:39 ET - News Release

Mr. Guy Charette reports

CARPATHIAN GOLD INC.-OPERATIONS UPDATE ON THE RDM GOLD MINE

Carpathian Gold Inc. is providing the following update on its RDM gold mine in Brazil. The RDM mine is 100 per cent owned by the corporation's wholly owned subsidiary Mineracao Riacho dos Machados Ltda. (MRDM). Recommissioning of the RDM mine processing plant, which commenced in mid-March following reinstatement of the Autorizacao Provisoria de Operacao (APO or provisional operating licence), is proceeding and is in the ramp-up phase.

Process plant

The process plant, a conventional crush-grind-carbon-in-leach circuit with a planned production capacity of 7,100 tonnes per day, is currently in a ramp-up phase, whereby components of the plant are tested under workload conditions with allowance for technical adjustments and site redesigns if required. Typical ramp-up periods for a plant this size can range from three to six months or longer if equipment and/or engineering flaws are discovered. The corporation has been experiencing certain difficulties during this stage, chief among them having been in the area of power generation. The lack of synchronization between generators has proven to be a major impediment and has resulted in numerous plant shutdowns, consequently leaving the corporation behind in its internal ramp-up schedule. Other key items being adjustments to the crushing circuit components as well as full completion of plant facilities that were not required for the recommissioning and ramp-up phase but necessary for steady-state design capacity production.

The following production has been attained thus far following recommissioning:

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• To June 30, a total of 547,131 tonnes of ROM ore have been mined at an average grade of 1.09 g/t gold.
• Also to June 30, ROM ore stockpile consists of 862,808 tonnes at an average grade of 0.88 g/t gold, which is segregated into high- and low-grade ore classes.
• In the month of June, 101,745 tonnes ROM ore were mined at an average grade of 1.14 g/t gold, which represents 48 per cent of the daily production of 7,100 tonnes per day. The other 52 per cent came from the stockpile.

The bulk of ore from the current mining is from the lower-grade Central Pit zone. Waste extraction is under way in the North Pit zone, and higher grades are anticipated when mining activity can ramp up in the North Pit zone. A thorough grade and tonnes reconciliation between ROM ore, and process-plant feed grade and tonnes has not yet been concluded in this ramp-up phase.

Operating licence

The RDM gold project is currently operating under the reinstated Autorizacao Provisoria de Operacao (APO or provisional operating licence), as announced on Feb. 24, 2014. The APO allows the project to operate, and produce and sell gold during the interim period prior to receiving the Licenca de Operacao (LO or operating licence). MRDM is proceeding with the requirements set forth by the regulatory bodies to receive the LO (the definitive operational permit) and complete the necessary inspections. This process is expected to take two to three months to complete.