Golden Band is pursuing near-term production of gold at its Bingo, Komis, EP and Golden Heart deposits.
"Bingo should be into full production by the last quarter of 2010," Gary Haywood, Golden Band's chief operating officer, said on the sidelines of the Prospectors and Developers Association mining convention in Toronto, the largest annual meeting of its kind.
Haywood said the mine could hit production of 45,000 ounces per year by the end of the year and could pour its first Dore bar by September or October.
But he said it first must obtain the debt financing, with some C$11.5 million to go toward refurbishing its mill and related infrastructure, and the remainder to underground development and infrastructure.
Cash costs at Bingo are projected to be $500 per ounce, or well below global gold prices near $1,100.
"We really need the commitment to the debt by the end of April. As soon as possible really," Haywood said at the PDAC, a gathering of more than 20,000 miners, explorers, service providers and bankers.
"We are getting quite a bit of interest."
The company already raised C$10 million in a private placement in February.
Once its mill is refurbished, Golden Band plans to take throughput to some 400 tonnes per day of feed, and raise that to 700 tonnes per day by the middle of next year.
Once its open-pit Komis mine is running as well, Golden Band should hit production of between 65,000 and 70,000 ounces a year, and will look to raising that to as much as 100,000 ounces of the yellow metal.
The PDAC runs from March 7 through March 10 and attracts key players in the global mining industry. This year, as global metals demand picks up with economies emerging from crisis, some 50 governments are in attendance as well as producers from about 100 countries.
Saskatoon-based Golden Band is being advised by Cormark Securities Inc, a leading Canadian independent investment dealer. ($=$1.03 Canadian)
(Reporting by Pav Jordan; Editing by Frank McGurty)