Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/102869
auST r aliaN up dat E Crocodile Gold increasing Australian gold production by Greg Barns Considering where it mines, Crocodile Gold Corp. [CRK-TSX; CROCF-OTCQX; XGC-Frankfurt] is aptly named. The Toronto-based company recently obtained approval for its International Mine pit redevelopment in the Northern Territory of Australia where crocodiles are a major tourist attraction. Crocodile's Cosmo underground mine is also in the Northern Territory and the company has operations in the southern state of Victoria at Fosterville and at Stawell. The International Mine development is an important milestone for Crocodile Gold because it enables it to utilize to full capacity the plant at the nearby Cosmo operation. Crocodile Gold said NOVEMBER 2012 that it "anticipates that the ore contribution of the International Mine will start in Q2 2013. Present estimates show the International open pit contributing 50,000-60,000 ounces gold over the next two years." Chantal Lavoie, President and CEO, says that as a supplement to Cosmo Mine ore production, "ore produced from International Mine will allow us to significantly reduce processing costs, taking full advantage of our 2.4 million tpa treatment capacity." Cosmo Mine production is being ramped up and it is forecast to produce 50,000-55,000 ounces in 2012. Reserves at Cosmo are currently at 420,000 ounces. So far, 2012 has been a good year for Crocodile Gold in production terms mainly due to the acquisition earlier this year of the Fosterville and Stawell projects, both of which have been producing gold for many years. The company says that by including the Victorian assets the pro forma gold production for the period July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 was 95,000 ounces. The challenge with the Victorian assets is to take them in a new direction given their age. The Fosterville asset was developed in the late 1990s and began mining in 2005, and Stawell has been producing in the modern era for almost 30 years. In the case of the latter, Crocodile Gold has made no secret of the fact that it expects the mine to close in about two years, but Fosterville has more life left in it. On August 30 this year, Crocodile Gold reported excellent drilling results from one of the ore bodies at Fosterville including 23.36 g/t gold over 5.70 metres and 6.21 g/t over 6.10 metres. Mineral reserves currently sit at 2,411,000 tonnes of ore with an average grade of 4.71 g/t gold with in-situ proven and probable gold of 365,000 ounces. Drilling campaigns are planned for the remainder of 2012. While Crocodile Gold's strategy has been to acquire small to mid-sized Australian gold operations, it has also been active in looking for prospective ground, particularly in the Northern Territory. The Maud Creek Project, near the town of Katherine in the Northern Territory is a case in point. Maud Creek has resources of 9,288,000 tonnes of 3.1 g/t gold, for 935,000 oz in the measured and indicated categories. Inferred resources are 1,072,000 tonnes of 2.4 g/t, for 82,000 oz. It has had some relatively small scale mining in the past, but Crocodile Gold plans a major drilling campaign over the next six months and will initiate a pre-feasibility study by year end. n www.resourceworld.com 29