Wednesday, 19th September 2007 (1911 views)

Mercator Gold has announced that full commercial production is expected to get underway at its Meekatharra Gold Operations treatment plant in the next ten days, with a planned first gold pour scheduled to take place this week.

Located 15km south of the western Australian town of Meekatharra, the company said that the three million tonne per annum treatment plant is expected to produce around 120,000 ounces of gold in its first year of operation.

"With the commencement of commercial gold production only days away, Mercator is set to join the ranks of international gold producers at an exciting time for the gold sector," said Mercator's managing director, Patrick Harford.

To prepare for the first gold pour, the carbon-in-leach processing facility is working on a throughput level of nearly 150 tonnes per hour.

Mercator's Surprise and Bluebird mining operations are expected to meet the first 18 to 20 months of gold production at Meekatharra before production shifts to the company's underground mines, which are part of the highly productive Paddy's Flat Mining Centre.

The company currently holds 1,932 square km of ground on the Meekatharra Goldfield.

 

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