PureGold Has Advanced Key Areas To Expedite Success

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terry Smith, Pure Gold Mining Inc., Chief Operating Officer, said “Over the last six months we have advanced in four key areas to expedite our future success. We have a solid resource model we can use for long-term planning; a revamped short-term planning process to drive execution; a lower operating cost base to generate cash flow; and most importantly, an emerging culture of safety and performance. Mid-way through the third quarter, we are combining these elements into stronger gold production, most notably with a year-to-date record gold pour recently. We hope to break that record again very soon, and that the SRK resource model will help light the way to grow production in our upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study.”

The Company is expecting a significant improvement in production in the third quarter compared to either the first quarter or the second quarter of the year as the benefits of investments made in operational improvements begin to pay off. These improvements include a relentless commitment to safety, cost rationalization, improved integration of mine planning, geology and definition drilling leading to more reliable forecasts, improved mining execution. All of this is supported by the establishment of a high-confidence drilled inventory well ahead of active production areas.

Ore throughput for the third quarter is forecast to average between 775–875 tpd at 4.0–5.0 g/t gold. Both grade and ore throughput are forecast to trend positively throughout the quarter. Site-level operating plus sustaining capital costs are expected to be in the range of $9.5 - $10.5 million per month for the third quarter. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, this represents an absolute reduction in costs of approximately 25% and a cost-per-tonne reduction of approximately 50%. Our most significant cost is labour, including accommodations and travel. We expect to reduce this cost in 2023 following the installation of a workforce camp, which is currently in progress on our mine property.

In addition to the savings, further cost savings are expected to be captured in the next 12 months. Key opportunity areas include replacing rentals and contractors with more permanent solutions, and completing key infrastructure upgrades including the new camp, new electric compressors, and a new mine air heater. All these projects are currently underway. The Company is targeting additional savings equating to $1 million per month (approximately 10%) by the end of 2022. Further savings opportunities are expected to be identified and incorporated into the Updated Life of Mine plan.

The Pre-Feasibility Study, Life of Mine Plan and Technical Report included 1.65 million ounces of gold at 7.4 g/t contained in 6.9 million tonnes in the Indicated category and 0.37 million ounces of gold at 6.3 g/t contained in 1.8 million tonnes in the Inferred category at a cutoff grade of 3.38 g/t.