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ASX/TSX Ticker: DIO
PERTH, Western Australia, May 13 /CNW/ - Australian gold producer Dioro
Exploration NL (ASX/TSX: DIO) and its Canadian joint venture partner La Mancha
Resources Inc. today poured the first gold from ore mined underground at its
Frog's Leg project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
The gold pour marked the return to production of the Frog's Leg mine (49%
owned by Dioro) which produced 112,000 oz from the open pit in 2004/05.
The ore is part of a 100,000 tonne parcel of mainly development ore from
Frog's Leg which is being processed at Dioro's 100%-owned Jubilee mill over
the next two months.
In addition to the gold pour there have been other significant
developments at the Frog's Leg mine:- The Rocket and Mist declines have reached depths of 3000 metres of
development in total. In addition to the declines, development is now
taking place on 3 horizontal mining levels. Wherever the
mineralization has been exposed to date, orebody widths and grades
are in accordance with what was predicted by the resource model.
- The increase in the number of available mining faces enables the pace
of development to be accelerated. In order to achieve this increase
in productivity:
- A third jumbo drill has been commissioned to increase underground
development rates;
- A second underground truck is increasing haulage capacity;
- Power-line infrastructure and connection to mains power is nearing
completion.The Frog's Leg mine is forecast to produce an average of 83,000 oz of
gold per annum from its underground operations over the next seven years,
based on reserves of 3.65 million tonnes at 5.29 g/t Au (JORC Compliant Ore
Reserve of 622,000 oz.)
This reserve does not take into account additional resources calculated
in the March 2008 upgrade. The March resource estimates added 267,000 (37%
increase) to the measured and indicated category increasing the total measured
and indicated resources to 990,000 oz.
Dioro owns 49% of the Frog's Leg deposit with the remaining 51% held by
La Mancha Resources Australia, a subsidiary of La Mancha Resources Inc, a
Toronto listed company.
Dioro's Managing Director Rhod Grivas said the gold pour marked a
significant milestone for the Frog's Leg project.
"In addition, the ability to mill this ore at Dioro's low cost mill
further reinforces the company's growth strategy, whose most recent component
was the acquisition of the South Kalgoorlie Project which included the Jubilee
mill," Mr Grivas said.
"Frog's Leg is a terrific asset for Dioro because it provides us with
long-life high-grade feed into the blend of ores processed in the Jubilee
mill. The ownership of both these assets improves the viability of each
project and enhances the overall profitability of Dioro as a whole.
"Jubilee is a valuable asset in its own right because it is close to
Kalgoorlie and has grid power allocations, therefore not requiring high cost
diesel generated power. It is close to a number of other gold projects in the
area."
ABOUT DIORO
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Dioro is a dual-listed ASX and TSX (Code: DIO) Australian gold producer
with attributable Ore Reserves of 533,000 ounces (Dec 2007) and Measured and
Indicated resources in excess of 2 million ounces. Dioro owns a 1.2mtpa
processing facility that is located 30kms from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia,
with all attributable resources and reserves located within 50kms of the
processing facility.
Dioro has 1500 square kilometres of prime exploration acreage in the
Kalgoorlie area, with an aggressive 2008 exploration budget.
Dioro also has exposure to uranium exploration in WA with Vale spending
A$4 million to earn a 60% interest in the Kunderong Uranium project.
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Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: The forward-looking
statements made in this release are based on assumptions and judgments of
management regarding future events and results. Such forward-looking
statements, including but not limited to those with respect to the
operations at the company's South Kal and Penfold's project and the
Frog's Leg joint venture and the company's capital expenditures and
expected future production involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the company to be materially different from any
anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among
other things, the actual market prices of gold, the actual results of
current exploration, the actual results of future mining, processing and
development activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue
to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the company's
public documents.
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For further information: visit www.dioro.com.au or contact: Rhod Grivas,
Managing Director, Dioro Exploration NL, T: +61 8 9389 8799; Peter Harris,
Professional Public Relations, T: +61 8 9388 0944
