Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/355430
A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 www.resourceworld.com 37 • Permitted state-of-the-art heap leach processing facility • NI 43-101 compliant gold resource of 552,000 Measured and Indicated and 165,000 Inferred ounces of gold • Contiguous land package covering more than 25,000 acres PershingGold.com | PGLC FAST-TRACKED TO PRODUCTION Richmont Mines Inc. [RIC-TSX, NYSE MKT] reports a stellar second quarter 2014 gold production of 29,091 ounces and six-month gold production of 48,171 ounces, a 107% and 73% increase above the respective 2013 levels. The company is now revising its 2014 production guid- ance upward to 75,000 to 85,000 ounces from 70,000 to 80,000 ounces. As of June 30, Richmont had a cash balance of over $32 million, compared to $13.5 million at March 31, 2014. Elaine Ellingham, Interim President and CEO, said, "We are very pleased with the strong performance of our operations dur- ing the second quarter of 2014, with gold production and sales exceeding our plans for the period. With 60% of our 2014 fore- cast realized in the first six months of the year, we are comfortable increasing guid- ance for the 2014 production profile to 75,000 to 85,000 ounces." Gold production during the second quarter at the Island gold mine 83 km northeast of Wawa, Ontario of 11,784 ounces represents a 58% increase over the same quarter last year. The mill achieved a record monthly production rate in May of 25,000 tonnes milled, achieving its rated capacity of approximately 800 tpd. Increased second quarter production at Island gold resulted from improved mine scheduling, leading to better availability of muck to the mill, together with decreased mill downtime attributed to higher truck availability, to a large extent as a result of the four new trucks purchased last year. The Beaufor Mine 27 km northeast of Val d'Or, Quebec produced 8,168 ounces gold in the second quarter, a 23% increase over the same quarter last year. The pro- duction schedule at Beaufor continues to include both higher-grade zones by room- and-pillar mining, together with long-hole stoping of slightly lower-grade zones, resulting in some expected grade variation from quarter to quarter. At the Monique open-pit operation 25 km east of Val d'Or, improved separation of higher-grade material for immediate milling, from lower-grade material for stockpil- ing, has been successfully implemented. As a result, the grade of the Monique ore milled at the Camflo mill in the quarter was above budget and this is expected to continue through to year-end. The lower- grade stockpile will provide additional mill feed to optimize Camflo in 2015 as needed. However, in the second half of 2014, addi- tional Monique ore will be milled, replacing the higher-grade W Zone ore that is now completed. The Camflo mill was operating at its rated capacity of 1,200 tpd in the second quarter, processing mine production from the Beaufor, W Zone and Monique mines. The development of Monique was part of Richmont's strategy to increase through- put at the Camflo mill, which lowers unit milling costs. n Richmont Mines ups gold production MINING