Dec 31 2013
Veris Gold Corp. is pleased to provide shareholders with a November toll milling and production update for the Company's three wholly-owned Jerritt Canyon gold mines and processing plant in Elko County, Nevada. Jerritt Canyon is operated by Veris Gold USA Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
Overall Operational Report
During the month of November the plant processed 110,378 tons, averaging over 3,600 tons through the roasters per operating day resulting in the production of over 8,300 ounces of gold from Jerritt Canyon ore and over 3,400 ounces of gold from third party ore. The operations achieved an average recovery of 86% from Jerritt Canyon ore for the month, continuing to demonstrate significant improvements over recoveries achieved earlier in the year.
Mr. François Marland, President and CEO of Veris commented, "I'm very pleased with our results this month, considering that we toll-milled third party ore for approximately 43% of the month of November. This clearly demonstrates the continued optimization of the Company's assets and we look forward to updating our shareholders on further progress in the near future."
Graham Dickson, COO, stated, "November proved to be another productive and successful month for the Company. All of the Department spending at the Jerritt Canyon operations is currently being reviewed in order to sustain lower cash costs."
Mine Production
In November the SSX-Steer Mine produced over 23,000 tons containing an estimated 4,400 ounces of gold, averaging just over 760 tons per day. This is an increase of approximately 15% in tons produced compared to the 20,000 tons of production reported last month. Management is committed to making the necessary adjustments to ensure that the mine returns to estimated targeted production of 1,000 tons per day at SSX-Steer. To assist with the mine's production, the Company recently hired a Chief Mining Engineer to enhance the teams' skill set and purchased a second underground reverse circulation drill to assist with mine development.
The Smith Mine produced over 51,000 tons containing an estimated 7,500 ounces of gold averaging over 1,700 tons per day for the month of November (0.17 ounces per ton average for high grade ore.) Included in this production is 14,900 tons of lower grade material averaging 0.09 ounces per ton that the Company will stockpile at the roaster facility.
At Starvation Canyon, an estimated 31,000 tons were mined in November containing an estimated 7,600 ounces of gold (0.244 ounces per ton) for an estimated average of over 1,000 tons per day. Starvation Canyon continues to achieve above targeted tonnage rates and deliver beyond the Company's expectations.
Processing Plant
The Jerritt Canyon Mill processed a total of over 59,500 tons of Jerritt Canyon ore in November, averaging over 3,800 tons per operating day and operated at over 5,000 tons per day for several days. Recovery rates averaged 86% during the month with an average processed grade of 0.16 ounces per ton.
Toll Milling
The Company toll-milled ore for Newmont USA Limited over a 14 day period during the latter part of November and on the first day of December. A total of 50,800 tons of Newmont ore were processed at the Jerritt Canyon mill during this time, thus achieving an overall average of over 3,600 tons per day. The Company continues to target additional toll milling agreements for 2014.