Golden Band Resources Corporate Update: Restarts Operations
Canada NewsWire
SASKATOON, SK, Aug. 7, 2013
TSX.V: GBN OTCQX: GBRIF 100
SASKATOON, SK, Aug. 7, 2013 /CNW/ - Golden Band Resources Inc. ("Golden Band" or the "Company") (TSX.V-GBN; OTCQX-GBRIF) is pleased to announce that it has resumed full operations at its La Ronge Gold Project and is providing an update on Company activities.
Since February 26th of 2013 when the Company commenced a temporary halt on production from the Komis deposit and shut down the mill, the Company's primary focus has been to bring the complete operation back into profitable production as soon as possible. This process has taken five (5) months to complete and has included the reorganization and hiring of personnel, the thorough review of operations in general involving the consideration of various alternatives for the restart, choosing the appropriate direction, the refinancing of the Company and then the implementation of the required work to reach our current status.
Work has been mostly completed on refurbishing the mill, preparing the Golden Heart and Greywacke areas for production including the building of roads, the redesign and actual mining of the underground Roy Lloyd area, the building of a significant stockpile of ore needed to restart and support continued milling operations at full capacity. In addition, the Company has prepared new mining plans, updated ore resource calculations (see news release of May 2, 2013) and started the permitting process on one additional mining area. There has been work completed on the tailings pond and the personnel camp is in the process of expansion.
All of this work has been carried out at as quickly as possible and required additional funding. Funding has been provided by way of the reorganization of debt and the infusion of new capital. Procon Mining and Tunneling (which has directors in common with the Company), has provided the majority of the funds for this work. Credit and financing agreements between the Company, Procon and the Kitsaki/Procon JV will accommodate the restart of the operations including the various mine deposits, the mill and various maintenance requirements. See Press Releases of June 18 and 20, 2013 for a more detailed description of the agreements.
The mill started processing at approximately 500 tonnes per day and the plan is to increase the rate per day as long as it can be supported by the mining rate. Over the last 5 months stockpiles of ore have been built at three of the operating areas including the mill, Greywacke and Roy Lloyd. The first gold pour is scheduled before the end of August. The Company is planning to produce about 25,000 ounces of gold for the fiscal year.
The Company is now in the process of drafting operation plans for the next 2 years that will include production from the Roy Lloyd, Greywacke, Decade, Komis and Golden Heart deposits. This new production scenario will require new permits for the Golden Heart and Greywacke areas. The longer term objective of the Company is to develop other deposits in the general area and increase overall production rates.
While it has been a setback to shut down the operations for the last five months, the Company believes it was necessary in order to be better prepared for future operations. Operating costs had reached unsustainable levels for various reasons and the Company now believes it can progress at a consistent mill throughput rate which will help reduce overall costs.
Mr. Paul Saxton, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, is the Qualified Person as defined in NI43-101 for this disclosure and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this release.
About Golden Band
Golden Band Resources Inc. is a gold producer operating in the La Ronge Gold Belt in northern Saskatchewan and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada under the symbol GBN and traded in the United States on the OTCQX under the symbol GBRIF. Commercial production was declared on April 1, 2011. The Company has been actively exploring the La Ronge Gold Belt since 1994 and has assembled a land package of 870 km2, including 13 known gold deposits and four former producing mines, being Jolu, Decade, Star Lake and Komis. The Company plans to undertake aggressive drill programs throughout the La Ronge Gold Project with the goal of significantly expanding the existing NI 43-101 gold resources that have been identified to date.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Golden Band Resources Inc.,
"Paul Saxton"
Paul Saxton, CEO
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the restructuring of operations, estimates of production, costs of production, the sufficiency and availability of capital and financing and other future plans, objectives or expectations of Golden Band Resources Inc. (Company) are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include risks relating to the actual results of operations, current exploration activities, fluctuating gold prices, possibility of equipment breakdowns and delays, cost overruns, general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company. The Company makes all reasonable efforts to update its corporate information on a timely basis.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Golden Band Resources Inc.
Contact
Investor Relations: 604-682-6852
Email: info@goldenbandresources.com
www.goldenbandresources.com