Rambler's Ming Mine Moves into Commercial P...
FOR: RAMBLER METALS & MINING PLC
TSX VENTURE SYMBOL: RAB
AIM SYMBOL: RMM
October 29, 2012
Rambler's Ming Mine Moves into Commercial Production
LONDON, ENGLAND and BAIE VERTE, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwire - Oct. 29, 2012) - Rambler Metals and
Mining plc (TSX VENTURE:RAB)(AIM:RMM) ('Rambler' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce that its 100% owned
Ming Copper-Gold Mine will be officially declaring commercial production commencing 1 November 2012. In
addition, Transamine Trading SA ('Transamine') has been advised of load readiness for its first shipment of
copper concentrate.
PROJECT UPDATE HIGHLIGHTS
-- Commercial Production for the Ming Mine has been defined as the period
following commissioning with the mill running at 85% of designed
production for a period of 60 continuous days. The operation achieved
this milestone during October's production month. Therefore, the Company
has decided to declare Commercial Production effective 1 November 2012
which is also the start of its 2Q 2013 reporting period
-- The Company has concurrently provided Transamine a notice of "Load
Readiness" for the first shipment of copper concentrate from Goodyear's
Cove. The vessel is expected to call port in the next 30 to 45 days
-- Upon arrival of the vessel, the Company expects to ship between 9,000
and 10,000 wet metric tonnes of copper concentrate
-- Since beginning copper production in May 2012, 7,300 wet metric tonnes
of concentrate have been produced averaging 27% copper, 6 g/t gold and
49 g/t silver of which 6,225 wet metric tonnes have been invoiced to
Transamine at average provisional pricing of US $3.52per pound copper,
US $1,669 per ounce gold and US $30.47 per ounce silver, generating US
$12.5 million in revenue
-- Milling recoveries have been steady, averaging 90% copper and 65% for
gold. During a scheduled shutdown in September, the Company finalized
preparations to begin reprocessing floatation tailings through the CIP
circuit to try and improve gold recovery to 85%. Testing for this is
expected to begin before the end of the calendar year
-- Development headings into the 1807 Zone are continuing on multiple
fronts. Development and run of mine head grades have been steadily
increasing as thicker parts of the ore body are accessed. Over the last
two weeks mill head grades have been averaging 4.5% copper with 1.7 g/t
gold
George Ogilvie, President and CEO of Rambler, commented:
"The last 12 months have been transformational for the Company as we have transitioned ourselves through
construction, development, commissioning, production ramp up and now finally into commercial production.
Shortly, the Company will be providing guidance to the market on key production and financial indicators for
the remainder of fiscal 2013, now that commercial production has been attained.
"Going forward we will now look to strengthen our cash position through free cash flow from operations. During
our first year in operation, calendar 2013, we believe that the repayment of debt to be of paramount importance
in these turbulent markets. A portion of free cash will specifically be used to re-pay the Sprott $7.5M debt
under an existing credit facility.
"Shortly we will also begin processing tailings from the copper flotation circuit prior to discharge into the
tailings pond. In laboratory tests this process opportunity increased gold recovery from 66% to 85%. The field
trial makes economic sense particularly in a robust gold price environment. Now that we are in production this
is just one of many opportunities that we intend to exploit over the coming months."
PROJECT UPDATE
Including start-up and commissioning, the Company has now been producing copper for five months. Overall, we
have been pleased with the performance of the operation resulting in production of just over 7,300 wet metric
tonnes of copper concentrate averaging 27% copper with 6 g/t gold and 49 g/t silver. The Company has now
provided Transamine an official notice of "Load Readiness" for the shipment of its first concentrates from
Goodyear's Cove. This is another significant milestone for the group as it completes the entire production
cycle, from mining to milling and finally marketing and sales.
Following the steady increases in production seen month over month, and all preparations now being completed
for the shipment of copper concentrate, the Company is pleased to announce that commercial production has been
reached during the month of October. The Mine will officially begin its period of commercial production
commencing 1 November 2012, which coincides with the start of fiscal Q2 2013. Undoubtedly, this marks the
beginning of an important time for the company with a forecast of full production through the months of
November, December and January; the Q2 results released in March 2013 will be a substantial marker for us as a
new producer.
During September, the Company scheduled a brief ten-day shutdown period to complete a number of maintenance
items and begin the process of preparing the plant for the upcoming winter season. Of significant importance
during the shutdown was the completion of piping required to run floatation tailings back to the hydromet (CIP
circuit) to improve overall gold recovery. To date, gold in run of mine ore has been averaging 1.0 to 1.5 g/t
with recovery to the concentrate in line with initial lab testing. By routing flotation tailings back through
the CIP circuit laboratory testing has shown that overall gold recovery can be further improved to 85%,
allowing for a gold dore to be poured along with the production of copper concentrate. With an anticipated
increase in gold head grade in the coming months, it's important to have this work completed now so that gold
recovery can be maximized as head grades improve. Production at the mill was re-started on 21 September 2012
and the plant testing for improved gold recovery will begin before the end of the calendar year.
Development and stope sampling of the 1807 Zone has returned some encouraging results. While it has been known
that this zone carried a significant amount of copper, the head grades being reported from the mine have
exceeded our own resource/ reserve estimates. To ensure a consistent run of mine feed grade to the mill we have
been blending the 1807 zone ore with Lower Footwall material to achieve an overall copper grade between 2% and
5%. The plant was built based on a head grade design of 2% - 5% copper and thus is optimized for reagent usage,
reaction time and concentrate grade between these ranges. The average head grade for the entire month of
October to date is 3.8% copper, 1.3 g/t gold and 8.3 g/t silver.
The table below is a report of select muck and chip samples from the active working faces in the 1807 zone.
Table 1: Development sampling highlights from the 1807 Zone
--------------------------------------------------------
Length Cu Au Ag
Heading Type (m) (%) (g/t) (g/t)
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
389 lv Stope Average 6.00 1.97 13.76
--------------------------------------------------------
389 dev muck 15.15 4.13 29.70
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
397 lv Stope Average 6.87 3.22 13.86
--------------------------------------------------------
397 dev muck 9.70 2.05 18.30
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
460 lv Stope Average 4.52 0.83 4.68
--------------------------------------------------------
460 dev chip 3.00 6.37 1.87 17.73
--------------------------------------------------------
460 dev chip 1.50 16.30 1.09 29.00
--------------------------------------------------------
460 dev chip 1.50 4.90 1.35 12.90
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
481 lv Stope Average 3.41 3.24 6.41
--------------------------------------------------------
481 dev muck 5.90 1.37 13.20
--------------------------------------------------------
The Company has developed an exploration program to test the plunge extents of this zone which will include un-
drilled areas not currently outlined in the resource/ reserve estimate.
Larry Pilgrim, P.Geo., is the Qualified Person responsible for the technical content of this release and has
reviewed and approved it accordingly. Mr. Pilgrim is an independent consultant contracted by Rambler Metals and
Mining plc.
Tonnes referenced are dry metric tonnes unless otherwise indicated.
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements:
Certain information included in this press release, including information relating to future financial or
operating performance and other statements that express the expectations of management or estimates of future
performance constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding the financial strength of the Company, estimates regarding timing of future
development and production and statements concerning possible expansion opportunities for the Company. Where
the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or
belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, forward-looking statements
are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially
from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but
are not limited to, interpretation and implications of drilling and geophysical results; estimates regarding
timing of future capital expenditures and costs towards profitable commercial operations. Other factors that
could cause actual results, developments or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, among
others, increases/decreases in production; volatility in metals prices and demand; currency fluctuations; cash
operating margins; cash operating cost per pound sold; costs per ton of ore; variances in ore grade or recovery
rates from those assumed in mining plans; reserves and/or resources; the ability to successfully integrate
acquired assets; operational risks inherent in mining or development activities and legislative factors
relating to prices, taxes, royalties, land use, title and permits, importing and exporting of minerals and
environmental protection. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements and
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by
this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as at the date hereof and
the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any such forward-looking statements
or any forward-looking statements contained in any other documents whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities law.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Rambler Metals and Mining
George Ogilvie, P.Eng.
President and CEO
709-800-1929
709-800-1921
OR
Rambler Metals and Mining
Corporate Office
+44 (0) 20-8652-2700
+44 (0) 20-8652-2719 (FAX)
www.ramblermines.com
OR
Seymour Pierce Limited
Stewart Dickson / Jeremy Stephenson
+44 (0) 20-7107-8000
OR
Pelham Bell Pottinger
Charles Vivian / Daniel Thöle
+44 (0) 20-7861-3921
OR
Ocean Equities Limited
Guy Wilkes
+44 (0) 20-7786-4370
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of
the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Rambler Metals & Mining Plc
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