News: Kingsrose Mining ships first gold and silver from Talang Santo mine

Kingrose Mining (ASX:KRM) should trade higher after advising that the first shipment of gold and silver dore from the Talang Santo Mine in Indonesia is to be completed this week.

This is the first shipment of dore since the final approval to commence production at the Talang Santo Mine was received on 9 July 2014.

Around 2,000 ounces of gold and 5,650 ounces of silver will be shipped subject to final assay at the refinery, not including gold and silver in circuit.

A total of 5,012 tonnes at an average head grade of 10.9 g/t gold and 31 g/t silver have been processed and reconciled to 31 July 2014, with the mill currently running at an average throughput of 300 tonnes per day.

This will progressively increase to the 380 tpd nameplate capacity over the coming months in line with the increase in mine production.

Head grades have progressively increased and individual days have exceeded 12 g/t gold as the circuit and ore feed blends continue to be balanced following the initial build-up of gold in circuit.

A key outcome has been the metallurgical recoveries which are currently returning 97% for gold and 92% for silver, both above previous test work.

Operations at the Talang Santo Mine are focussed on the setup of additional sub levels, rises and ore passes required to commence stoping.

Mining is being undertaken on both the 2 and 3 Levels in the Hanging Wall and Mawi veins, and the Splay vein off the 3 Level, aimed at matching mine production to the current mill capacity over the next few months.

A number of process plant initiatives for circuit optimisation and cost savings are also being trialled over this initial period.

These include running the SAG mill stand alone to achieve required grind size without the need to parallel the ball mills, with the required specifications being achieved at 65% power draw on the mill.

Trials on thickening leach feed are also underway, which, if successful, will reduce reagent costs.

This first shipment represents a major milestone in the re-start of the Way Linggo Project and Kingrose will continue efforts to increase tonnage and optimise the plant during the ramp-up phase.