D2,785 Ounces of Gold Sold and 2,221 Ounces of Gold Produced At Zaruma Mine
VANCOUVER, BC - Dynasty Metals & Mining Inc. reported the sale of 2,785 ounces of gold from the Zaruma mine ion Ecuador in the first quarter of 2016 and production of 2,221 ounces. The average grade for gold production in the first quarter was 3.97g/t Au (representing a mix of resource grade material and lower grade material sourced outside the defined resource). Average gold recovery was 89.7% and the 2,221 ounces of gold were produced from 19,399 tonnes of material milled. During the first quarter, 2,785 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of US$1,171 per ounce.
Tonnage decreased in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the fourth quarter of 2015 due to the lack of qualified underground miners available and the decreased number of hours worked by mining labour. Grade of material mined continues to be below resource grade as lower grade development material is mixed with resource grade instead of being stockpiled for future processing.
A walkout by workers at its Zaruma gold mine that resulted in the temporary suspension of all activities at the mine. Some members of the workforce have since returned to work at the mine site, however mining activity is limited. Dynasty operations management continues to be in discussions with workers and government labour authorities to arrive at an equitable working arrangement for all parties. Immediately upon resumption of work activity at Zaruma, Dynasty moved underground ore stockpiles to the Zaruma mill and began processing this ore immediately thereafter. Dynasty continues to focus on making an arrangement with contract miners to supplement the existing underground workforce to increase tonnage from the mine. The labour situation will impact production estimates for the second quarter of 2016, however, the Company is exploring other opportunities to increase cash flow to mitigate impact of work stoppage.