STEPPE GOLD
ANNOUNCES RESUMPTION OF GOLD AND SILVER PRODUCTION
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - March 1, 2022 -
InvestorsHub NewsWire -- Steppe Gold Limited (TSX:
STGO) (OTCQX:STPGF) (FRA:2J9) ("Steppe Gold" or the
"Company") is
extremely pleased to announce that it
has received a new shipment of key reagents and has now resumed
full production.
Throughout 2021, Steppe Gold faced
significant reagent supply issues related to COVID lockdowns and
border closures, notably with China. Having
explored numerous supply alternatives, the Company has now secured
new supplies and has recommenced heap leach ore
processing.
As noted in prior news releases, the
Company has continued full scale mining, crushing, and stacking
operations at the ATO Gold Mine throughout 2021 and is very pleased
to report a strong build-up of inventories on the leach pad, ROM
pad and blast ores on the pit floor.
As of March 1, Steppe Gold has a total
of over 2.45m tonnes of ore stacked on the leach and ROM
pads.
On the leach pad there is currently a
total of 795,461t at 1.90 g/t Gold that is
unleached.
A further 451,580t at 1.15g/t Gold is
on the ROM pad.
The Company also has 569,604t at
2.09g/t Gold of blasted and unmined ore on the pit floors of the
ATO1 and ATO4 open cuts which will now be carted to the ROM and
Leach Pad.
At 70% estimated recovery this derives
a total of 81,842 ounces of recoverable gold, or approximately
$147M at $1,800 per ounce from the ROM and unleached
areas.
-
Blasted in Pit
Ore: 569,604 tonnes, equating to 26,815 Recoverable Gold Ounces for
US$48M
-
ROM Ore: 451,580
tonnes, equating to 11,689 Recoverable Gold Ounces for
US$21M
-
Leach Pad -
Unleached Ore: 795,461 tonnes, equating to 34,080 Recoverable Gold
Ounces for US$61M
With an estimated recovery rate of 70%
the leached sections are also estimated to yield a further 9,258
ounces for an additional US$17M.
Steppe has produced 45,655 ounces for
the project to date resulting in a recovery rate of 58%.
The Company continues crushing and
stacking operations and will soon recommence mining with operations
in all active pits. The
Company plans to produce over 100,000 ounces of gold from the oxide
zones in 2022 and 2023.
President and CEO of Steppe Gold, Bataa Tumur-Ochir
commented, "Despite the
unprecedented and unexpected challenges with reagent supply in
2021, the Company continued its mining, crushing and stacking
operations throughout 2021. We are
very pleased to be back in production and to be able to use our
significant inventory with over 81,842 ounces of estimated
recoverable gold available to be leached, and a strong inventory of
high-grade oxide ores in the active pits. We want to thank our
partners and shareholders for their support during the challenging
year. We believe 2022 will be a year of rapid growth and expansion
with full production and further financing updates and development
progress on the Phase 2 Expansion project."
Steppe Gold
Limited
Steppe Gold is Mongolia's premier
precious metals company.
For Further
information, please contact:
Bataa Tumur-Ochir, CEO and
President
Shangri-La office, Suite 1201, Olympic
Street
19A, Sukhbaatar District 1,
Ulaanbaatar 14241, Mongolia
Tel: +976 7732 1914
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements:
The above contains forward-looking statements that are
subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially
from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause such differences include: changes in world
commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials
relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes
to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking
statements in this release include, among other things, statements
regarding the trading of the Common Shares and business, economic,
and political conditions in Mongolia. Although we believe the
expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are
reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We
disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable
law.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not
reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of the content of this news release