Veris Gold Corp. produces 14,922 ounces in JuneVANCOUVER, July 8, 2013 /CNW/ - Veris Gold Corp. ("Veris" or the "Company") (TSX: VG) (OTCQB: YNGFF) (Frankfurt Xetra Exchange: NG6A) is pleased to provide an additional mid-quarter update regarding production improvements at its wholly-owned Jerritt Canyon gold mine and processing facility in Elko County, Nevada. Jerritt Canyon is operated by Veris Gold USA Ltd., ("Veris USA"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
Overall Operational Report
For the month of June the plant averaged over 3,777 tons per day producing 14,922 ounces (including approximately 1,195 ounces from Newmont Mining toll milling), with an average recovery of 87%, a significant improvement over the recoveries achieved earlier in the year.
R. Llee Chapman, President and CEO of Veris Gold commented, "Our team at Jerritt Canyon delivered an excellent month in June: We had no accidents, we mined over 91,000 tons from our three underground mines; a new record for the property, and we also had a great tonnage run from our high-grade mine, Starvation Canyon, where over 28,000 tons were delivered to the mill. In the plant we processed over 113,000 tons during the month and achieved approximately 87% recovery which is our 2013 goal. All of this resulted in 14,922 ounces of gold production for June of which an estimated 1,195 gold ounces are attributed to toll milling for Newmont."
Mr. Chapman further commented, "I want our investors and shareholders to understand that while our share price has faced significant headwinds in this difficult gold market, the first step in the ongoing process of turning our company around is to ensure that the Jerritt Canyon assets are productive and efficient. Our team is one of the very best in the business and you can see by these recent results the Jerritt Canyon property continues to improve because of their sustained efforts. We look forward to delivering and reporting on more of this tremendous 'can-do' attitude to our shareholders in the near term."
Francois Marland, Executive Chairman, stated, "These results provide confirmation that the team the Board has put in place and the changes made to senior management are proving effective. The operations at Jerritt Canyon have a renewed vigour and this has spread throughout the Company from top to bottom, with the corresponding improvement in all statistics a direct result of these actions."
Mine Production
During the second quarter the SSX Mine produced a total of 95,811 tons containing 14,174 ounces averaging 1,041 tons per day. The Smith Mine produced record tonnage during the quarter totaling 135,904 tons containing 19,066 ounces averaging 1,477 tons per day for the quarter. A slight reduction in grade was seen during part of the quarter as development work was completed. Ramp up at Starvation Canyon exceeded expectations with total production during the quarter of 45,869 tons containing 8,217 ounces averaging 498 tons per day with grades of 0.18 ounces per ton.
Toll Milling
Total ore processed at Jerritt Canyon in June includes 4,763 tons from Newmont. The Company also took delivery of an additional 2,700 tons of Atna Resources Pinson ore in late June.
The plant continues to operate at an average of 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes per day with an average of 1,000 tons of excess ore per day capacity, currently being used for processing lower grade Jerritt Canyon stockpile. The Company continues the process of negotiating additional toll milling contracts with several companies and anticipates announcing new toll milling agreements in the near future.
Production Outlook
The Company continues to be focused on achieving the targeted production of 145,000 to 155,000 ounces for the year from its three existing underground mines. The results from this quarter, particularly May and June, show that this target is achievable and sustainable going forward. The Company is continuing to utilize internal resources to open the Saval 4 Portal located north of the SSX-Steer mine within the next two months. This will allow the Company to draw additional ores at comparable grades for at least another year from this source.
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