One Tanzania gold mine in the Kagera region of the country, namely the Tulawaka Gold Mine, has recorded a production of 211,373 ounces of this precious metal for the 2008 year, which represents an approximate 18 per cent increase in production from the previous year.
The Tulawaka Gold Mine project is a joint-venture between MDN Inc. and the Pangea Goldfields Inc., which is a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation and an acting project operator through its own subsidiary branch in Tanzania, Pangea Minerals Ltd.
Currently, MDN is a 30 per cent stakeholder, with Pangea Goldfields Inc. holding the majority 70 per cent of the stakes.
MDN Inc. is an exploration company that is based out of Montreal, Canada with its main exploration activities in Tanzania being carried out through its interests in the Tulawaka Gold mine as well as a majority interest in 35 adjacent mineral licenses.
According to Paul Girard, who is the Chairman and CEO of the MDN Inc., which is the owner and operator of the Tulawaka Gold Mine, his company’s recorded 2008 production represents an 18 per cent increase over the 2007 output of gold.
“This increase is particularly noteworthy given that it occurred during a year, in which the mine was transformed from an open pit to underground operations, a change usually associated with a decrease in production” said Mr. Girard, in a recently released statement.
Mr. Girard went on to further explain that in 2008, the Kagera mill processed approximately 318,789 tons of ore at an average grade of 18 g/t gold and at a recovery rate of 95.5 per cent.
Operation at the Tulawaka Gold Mine first began in March 2005 and since then it has produced approximately totals 654,367 ounces of gold and has sold a total of 646,078 ounces of gold.
Overall, the production rate for the mine has been increasingly doing well as evidenced by the fact that, last year the total cash costs for producing an ounce of gold was reduced to approximately 212 dollars, compared to 271 dollars per ounce in 2007.
In addition, a total of 212,913 ounces of gold were sold last year, completely in the spot market, for an average price of USD 880 per ounce with a total yearly sales of approximately USD 187.4 million; the year before, in 2007, the average price for an ounce of gold was significantly less, approximately USD 709 per ounce.
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