Access to higher grade Radio Tower orebody in
H2 2018
VANCOUVER, April 11, 2018
/CNW/ - Rye Patch Gold Corp. ("Rye Patch" or the
"Company") (TSX.V: RPM; OTCQX: RPMGF; FWB: 5TN)
reports Q1 2018 production results at the Company's flagship
Florida Canyon mine in Pershing County,
Nevada.
Production Highlights for Q1 2018
- Produced 10,844 ounces of gold and 5,457 ounces of silver;
- Achieved a price of gold sales of US$1,332.53 per ounce;
- Mined 1,856,400 tons of ore;
- Crushed 2,151,900 tons of ore;
- Placed 22,300 ounces of gold on the pad; and
- Realized a waste to ore stripping ratio of 1.16.
Gold production dipped in January and February associated with
managing the water balance during the ramp up of the second
Carbon-in-Column (CIC) plant, and
unplanned equipment failures in the refinery. Gold production
rebounded in March with the production of 4,540 ounces of gold.
The Company is forecasting between 15,000 and 16,000 ounces
of gold in Q2 2018.
Q1 started with the ramp up of the second CIC plant which
increases the solution application capacity by 67 percent.
The successful ramp up and water balance process was completed in
early February and results are encouraging with increased
application rates being realized.
The CIC plant recovered 12,053 ounces of gold to carbon.
Several issues occurred in the refinery as older equipment was
brought back to commercial production levels. Challenges with the
furnace, thermal fluid heater and regeneration kiln were solved,
and the equipment is working at design specifications. The
result of these refinery issues is deferral of approximately 1,500
ounces of gold production.
Overall, winter weather was mild for January and February;
however, March turned in to a heavy precipitation month – the
4th wettest on record. The high moisture slowed
crushing and delayed mining during the month. However, ore
crushed, and gold ounces stacked to the pad were only 4 percent and
5 percent below plan respectively for the quarter as feed was made
up from the ore and crush stockpiles.
Waste mining increased slightly as access to the Main area was
initiated in mid-February. The Main area contained more fill
material than expected compared to the resource block model.
The additional material increased the strip ratio to 1.16 for the
quarter. The majority of the fill is now removed, and ore is
exposed.
For the quarter, the Company sold 10,637 ounces of gold at an
average sales price of US$1,332.53
per ounce. During Q1, gold had a low of US$1,307.75 per ounce and a high of US$1,354.95 per ounce with an average price of
US$1,329.28 per ounce. Rye
Patch gold sales slightly beat the average gold price for the
quarter.
In addition, the Company sold 5,457 ounces of silver at a
realized sales price of US$16.76 per
ounce.
Radio Tower Access
Since acquiring the Florida Canyon
mine, the Company has been in discussions with the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), the Union Pacific Railway (UP), Pershing County and a local radio station to
remove two communication towers located on the Radio Tower portion
of the Florida Canyon orebody. During Q1, the FAA confirmed
the tower is in the process of being decommissioned and can be
dismantled and removed in Q2. A new location for the UP tower
has been selected and the permitting and design work is underway
with removal expected in late Q2 to early Q3. Sites for the
Pershing county communication
station and local radio station have been selected and are being
readied for relocation. The result of the removal of the
communication towers will be access to the highest-grade portion of
the Florida Canyon orebody which is anticipated in H2 2018.
Initial access and site preparation will commence in Q2.
Mr. Doug Jones, Rye Patch Gold's
Chief Operating Officer, a Registered Member of SME with a BSc. in
Mining Engineering, is a Qualified Person as defined under National
Instrument 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the contents of
this news release.
About Rye Patch Gold Corp.
Rye Patch Gold Corp. is a
Nevada based, Tier 1, mining
company engaged in the mining and development of quality
resource-based gold and silver mines and projects along the
established Oreana trend in west central Nevada. Leveraging its strong financial
position and cash to acquire the operating Florida Canyon Gold
Mine, Rye Patch Gold Corp. now controls a trend-scale platform with
mining operations, resource projects and exploration upside. The
combination of operations and organic growth along a major
Nevada gold trend positions Rye
Patch as an emerging mid-tier gold producer with tremendous
value-added potential.
Rye Patch Gold recently announced an agreement to merge with
Alio Gold Inc. whereby Alio Gold
will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Rye Patch Gold and
thereby acquire its - 100% owned Florida Canyon Mine and all of its
resource and exploration projects along the Oreana and Cortez gold
trends. The acquisition is expected to be completed in late
May 2018. Alio Gold is a
growth-oriented gold mining company, focused on exploration,
development and production in Mexico. Its principal assets
include its 100%-owned and operating San Francisco Mine in
Sonora, Mexico and its 100%-owned
development stage Ana Paula Project in Guerrero, Mexico. For more information,
please visit our website at www.ryepatchgold.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
'William Howald'
William C.
(Bill) Howald, CEO & President
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release
contains forward-looking statements relating to future plans and
objectives of the Company, future deliveries of gold, proposed
operations of the Company including mine development, funding
requirements, timeline for commercial production, future events and
conditions and other statements that are not historical facts, all
of which are based on assumptions and subject to various risks and
uncertainties. The Company's actual results, programs and financial
position could differ materially from those anticipated in such
forward‑looking statements as a result of the following assumptions
and risk factors, some of which may be beyond the Company's
control. These assumptions and risk factors include: future
deliveries of gold pursuant to the forward gold price contract
facility, the achievement of mine redevelopment plans and
achievement of commercial production; the availability of funds;
the financial position of Rye Patch; the timing and content of work
programs; the results of exploration activities and development of
mineral properties; the interpretation of drilling results and
other geological data; the reliability of calculation of mineral
resources; the reliability of calculation of precious metal
recoveries; the receipt and security of mineral property titles;
project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses;
fluctuations in metal prices; currency fluctuations; and general
market and industry conditions.
Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and
opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are
made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements,
although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may
prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be
placed on forward-looking statements. As a result, the
Company cannot guarantee that the Florida Canyon mine redevelopment
and achievement of commercial production will be completed on the
terms and within the time disclosed herein or at all.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Rye Patch Gold