NewsMDN: Tulawaka Mine Produces 39,657 Ounces of Gold in the First Quarter of 2007
10:39 EDT Wednesday, April 25, 2007
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(CCNMatthews - April 25, 2007) - MDN Northern Mining ("MDN")(TSX:MDN) is pleased to announce that the Tulawaka Mine in Tanzania produced 39,657 ounces of gold during the first quarter ended March 31, 2007. Tulawaka gold production now amounts to 304,019 ounces since the beginning of operations in March 2005.
During the first quarter, the plant facilities processed 110,234 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 12.1 g/t gold at a gold recovery rate of 92%. The total cash costs were US$255 to produce an ounce of gold compared to the budget of US$248.
Mining operations for the month of March have been reduced because of heavy rains which required works to stabilize the slope of the open pit, and initial works for the development of the underground mine.
Nevertheless, the first quarter results are in accordance with the 2007 budget plan, taking into account that the first quarter was expected to contribute 20% of the year total.
For the first quarter, 35,684 ounces of gold were sold into the spot market at an average price of US$655, for total sales of US$23.6M.
The Tulawaka Mine distributed an amount of US$10M to the joint-venture participants MDN (30%) and Pangea Goldfields (70%) in the first quarter; MDN's share of these distributions has been entirely applied to the reduction of its debt. After this cash distribution, the Tulawaka Mine is maintaining cash provisions of US$18.2M, mainly for the development of the underground mine.
The Tulawaka project is a joint-venture between MDN Northern Mining (30%) and Pangea Goldfields (70%), a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation and project operator through its Tanzanian subsidiary Pangea Minerals Ltd. Certain information contained in this press release is based on factual information that was provided to MDN by the project operator. MDN is a mining exploration company with its head office in Montreal, Quebec. Its main exploration activities are carried out in Tanzania through its participation in the Tulawaka Gold Mine and a controlling interest in 20 mining permits around Tulawaka, including four new gold discoveries currently under a major drilling program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
MDN Northern Mining
Paul-A. Girard, Chairman
Dominique Fournier, Ph.D., Vice-President, Exploration
Richard Corbo, Corporate Development
514-866-6500
www.xnord.com