VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 18, 2015) - Luna Gold Corp. (TSX: LGC) (OTCQX: LGCUF), ("Luna" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Company's current activities.
Since the last press release of August 14, 2015, the Company has initiated the pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the restart of the Aurizona mine ("Aurizona"), commenced drilling at Aurizona, finalized preparations to place the processing plant onto care and maintenance following the processing of the ore stockpile, and reduced its work force to levels commensurate with critical activities over the next 12 months.
Marc Leduc, President and CEO, commented, "Since the financial restructuring, we are now able to focus our efforts on the activities that will position Luna for the future. We have drills in place, we have technical professionals on the ground and we are moving in the right direction to better understand our geology and resources at Aurizona as well as the best methodologies to process our ore. From this basis, we will be better positioned to re-open the Aurizona Mine in the future."
The PFS work for the Aurizona Mine restart has recently commenced and initial visits by the key technical personnel have now been completed. The purpose of the PFS is to develop an economic plan to include an upgraded grinding circuit that will allow the processing plant at the Aurizona Mine to economically process all the ore types found at the mine and surrounding brownfield areas. The PFS is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015 and will consider the mine pits, processing plant, waste rock storage facilities, tailings dam, water balance, geotechnical plans and all other aspects of the mine.
With six drills on site, the planned drilling program has commenced at the Aurizona area. The goals of the drilling program are to in-fill drill the Piaba deposit to improve the confidence in the resource estimation and mine planning, improve the structural geological interpretation of the deposit, investigate the geotechnical characteristics of the rock to improve the pit walls, investigate the possible extension of the Piaba vein to the northeast where the vein may have been moved by post-mineralization faulting, and condemnation of ground for future locations of waste rock piles and tailings storage facilities. A total of 59 diamond drill holes are planned for geological drilling amounting to more than 13,600 meters (m). Geotechnical drilling is estimated to consist of five diamond drill holes for some 1,300 m and 4 soil test holes for approximately 120 m. Three large diameter core holes are planned for metallurgical drilling for some 400 m. Additional soft Saprolite, condemnation and exploratory drilling is anticipated to commence in October of this year. The structural data and interpretation resulting from the drilling program is expected to assist in modeling the ore body and guiding our planning team to produce the best possible plan of operation.
Processing of stockpiled Saprolite and transitional ore was completed at the end of August 2015 and with the depletion of the stockpiled ore, the processing plant is being placed on care and maintenance. This situation is being supervised carefully by management to maintain compliance with our operating permits and to ensure that the machinery will remain in good working order for the anticipated restart in 2017, and to mitigate any potential impacts to machinery, land and the community.
In conjunction with the shut-down of the processing plant, Luna has been reducing its work force to accommodate decreased activity levels. To this extent, Luna has been communicating regularly with all stakeholders so that the reduction is anticipated and understood by all employees, the local communities and regulatory agencies.
In summary, Luna continues to make progress on its strategy to realize the potential of the Aurizona mine. The PFS work is progressing on schedule and is expected to be completed before year-end. The infill drilling program is well underway and, when complete, will provide the Company with data to better understand the geology of the deposit and to de-risk the mine planning process. Luna remains committed to working with its local communities to bring the Aurizona mine back into production on a long-term and sustainable basis.
About Luna Gold Corp.
Luna is a gold exploration and development company engaged in the operation, discovery, and development of gold projects in Brazil.
On behalf of the Company
Marc Leduc P.Eng. - President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain "forward looking statements" and certain "forward looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the successful completion of the Restructuring or any transaction or transactions similar in nature, regulatory and shareholder approvals of any such transactions, the Company's ability to continue as a going concern, future or continued mining operations, expected gold production and/or the results of analysis on gold production, expected grades, anticipated tailings facility cost, anticipated timing for the release of the new resource and reserve estimates and the Company's compliance with its debt and other financing arrangements. Forward-looking statements are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors identified in Luna Gold Corp.'s periodic filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. These factors include the inherent risks involved in a significant transaction such as the Restructuring or other related transactions, regulatory and shareholder approvals, financial performance or results, suspension and potential restart of operations, the effect of the Company's non-compliance with certain covenants in its debt and other financing agreements, the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other exploration data, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in production and operations, fluctuating metal prices, unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability, competition, loss of key employees, uncertainties with respect to non-compliance with credit facility covenants and other related risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.