Aurora okays RI gold mine

Aurora okays RI gold mine

PERTH (Reuter): Aurora Gold Ltd said yesterday it had approved development of its 85 percent-owned Toka Tindung gold-silver mine project in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, pending final government approvals and financing.

Production is scheduled to commence in the last quarter of calendar 1998 an average annual rate of 123,000 equivalent gold ounces, Aurora said.

Unit cash costs are forecast to be under US$235 an ounce, the company said.

Aurora's partner with 15 percent is PT Austindo Mining Corp, which is wholly owned by the Tahija family.

Toka Tindung would increase Aurora's group output to over 350,000 equivalent ounces a year, the company said.

Total capital cost at the start of mine production is forecast at US$51.3 million, Aurora said.

The capital cost is higher than previous forecasts, reflecting an increase in the throughput of ore to one million tons a year from the previously planned 750,000 tonnes and some provision for future expansion, the company said.

Exploration drilling recently increased the project's resource inventory to about 1.1 million ounces of contained gold and 2.6 million ounces of contained silver, Aurora said.

The resource is contained in four deposits at the project, which in total hold estimated ore reserves of 4.74 million tonnes, grading 3.9 grams of gold and 11 grams of silver per ton, the company said.

Aurora also mines the Mt Muro deposit in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is forecast to yield about 220,000 ounces of gold equivalent in 1997.