Crocodile Gold Production Increases 26% Sequentially to 45,963 Ounces Gold in the Third Quarter of 2012
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 10/15/12 -- Crocodile Gold Corp. (TSX: CRK) (OTCQX: CROCF) (FRANKFURT: XGC) ("Crocodile Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce production of 45,963 ounces of gold in the third quarter of 2012, an increase of 26% over the second quarter of 2012. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company has produced 93,376 ounces of gold.
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First Second Third
Quarter Quarter Quarter YTD YTD
2012 2012(1) 2012 Production(1) Performance(2)
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Ore Processed (t) 371,439 471,056 508,655 1,351,150 1,902,412
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Average Grade (g/t
Au) 0.99 2.82 3.31 2.50 2.74
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Mill Recovery (%) 92.5% 87.2% 85.6% 88.1% 86.3%
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Gold oz Produced 10,932 36,481 45,963 93,376 141,625
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Note 1: Includes production from Fosterville and Stawell post May 4th
acquisition date
Note 2: Shown as reference and including Fosterville and Stawell production
since January 1st 2012. YTD results through September 30, 2012
This table is compiled from unaudited production figures. Audited
results can have slight variations and will be released as part of
the Company's Quarterly Reporting
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The third quarter gold production increase was a result of a combination of a 8% increase in processed throughput and a 17% increase in average gold grade as shown in the table above. Year to date production was 141,625 ounces gold, when the Fosterville and Stawell Gold Mines are included as if Crocodile owned them on January 1, 2012.
Commenting on these results, Chantal Lavoie, President and CEO of the Company said, "The third quarter results demonstrate our continued growth since the beginning of the year as we concentrate our efforts on better quality ore sources in the Northern Territory (Cosmo Mine) and realize the full benefit of our new assets at Fosterville and Stawell during the quarter. Excellent progress was made on key projects, which will position us well for continued profitable production growth in 2013."
Operational Update-State of Victoria
-- Fosterville Gold Mine (FGM) continued development and production from
the Harrier and Phoenix ore zones. Surface mining of small satellite ore
zones complemented the production for the quarter, which saw an average
of 66,000 tonnes of ore per month produced.
-- At FGM, the Company announced high-grade gold intersections from drill
holes completed on strike extents of the Phoenix ore body structure.
-- Stawell Gold Mine (SGM) continued with its transition plan that will see
underground activities being completed by the end of 2013. Through the
quarter, monthly production averaged 67,000 tonnes of ore per month. Ore
development activities were completed in September and activities for
the remainder of the year will concentrate on production with no further
capital expenditures planned at the mine.
Operational Update-Northern Territory
-- At the Cosmo Mine, development and production ramp-up continued with an
average of 671 meters per month during the quarter and achieving over
40,000 tonnes of ore production in September.
-- Production stoping was initiated in September with the first transverse
stope successfully extracted.
-- On September 25th,the Northern Territory Department of Mines and Energy
(DME) granted in-principle approval for the International Mine pit
redevelopment and proposed preparatory work. Surface drilling was
initiated to capture the geotechnical, metallurgical and hydro-
geological information required for optimizing and finalizing mining
activities. The Mine Management Plan is also being updated to
incorporate the regulators final recommendations.
Exploration and Advanced Projects - Update
-- In the Northern Territory, the Exploration Group worked on a review of
various properties and will be preparing drill programs for 2013.
Revised resource and reserve calculations for a number of deposits have
been initiated with a plan to produce updated estimates by the end of
Q1, 2013.
-- At Union Reefs, compilation of the 2012 drilling program results was
completed and is being incorporated into a revised resource estimate.
Desktop study update work was initiated and is scheduled for completion
in Q4 with recommendations for the next phase of work for the project.
-- At Maud Creek, a revised resource estimate is being calculated and
desktop study work updated. A recommendation on the next phase of the
project is expected in Q4.
-- At SGM, following the decision to ramp down underground mining
activities in 2013, the Company reviewed potential for development of
known deposit extension on the existing mining lease. A decision to
carry out additional work at Stawell is expected in Q4.
Additional details of the third quarter will be provided in the Management Discussion and Analysis report, which will be released in conjunction with the Company's financial statements in mid-November.
Property Update
The Company has acquired the Glencoe Deposit located on a paved road approximately 9 km ENE from its former producing Brocks Creek Mine. This deposit will ultimately be included in the Company's medium term mine plan once additional drilling is completed and subsequent resource estimates are calculated.
About Crocodile Gold
Crocodile Gold is a Canadian company with operating gold mines in the Northern Territory of Australia and in the State of Victoria with a land package of over 4,000 square kilometres. Crocodile Gold is currently mining at the Fosterville and Stawell mines in the State of Victoria. In the Northern Territory, the Company continues to develop its Cosmo underground mine and is permitting the International open pit mine. The Northern Territory ore production is processed at the Union Reefs Mill with a capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per year.
At its Northern Territory properties, the Company has 3.175 million ounces of NI 43-101 reported Measured and Indicated mineral resources and 2.14 million ounces of Inferred mineral resources. These resources are inclusive of mineral reserves. At the State of Victoria properties, the Company has an additional 1.216 million ounces of NI 43-101 reported measured and indicated mineral resources (15.26 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.48 g/t gold) and 0.622 million ounces of inferred mineral resources (6.0 million tonnes at an average grade of 3.22 g/t gold) with details outlined in our Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2012. These resource estimates are exclusive of mineral reserves which total 0.472 million ounces.
Crocodile Gold has an extensive exploration program in place in the Northern Territory and is exploring on several key properties on its expansive land package. Crocodile Gold's main focus is on the Cosmo Mine, the Union Reefs and Maud Creek project areas. In the State of Victoria, the Company has exploration programs in place designed to expand the resource base of each mine property.
For additional information, please visit our website www.crocgold.com . Follow us on Twitter (@crocgold_crk) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/CrocodileGoldCorp).
Qualified Person
F. W. Nielsen P.Geo, V.P. Exploration of Crocodile Gold Corp is a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release
Cautionary Note
Certain information set forth in this press release contains "forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements, which include the Company's expectations for future performance based on current drill results and past production, expected gold prices, and mineral resource estimates, and are based on Crocodile Gold's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects" "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Crocodile Gold's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: liabilities inherent in mine development and production; geological, mining and processing technical problems; Crocodile Gold's inability to obtain required mine licenses, mine permits and regulatory approvals required in connection with mining and mineral processing operations; competition for, among other things, capital, acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped lands and skilled personnel; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; changes in commodity prices and exchange rates; currency and interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt operations and/or the transportation of mineral products, including labour stoppages and severe weather conditions; the demand for and availability of rail, port and other transportation services; the ability to secure adequate financing and management's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Crocodile Gold undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Crocodile Gold Corp.
Rob Hopkins
Manager, Investor Relations
416-861-5899
info@crocgold.com
www.crocgold.com