Reserve Update

RNS Number : 7265S

Centamin Egypt Limited

15 September 2010

 



Centamin Egypt Limited ("Centamin" or "the Company")

(LSE:CEY, TSX:CEE)

28% INCREASE IN SUKARI PROVEN AND PROBABLE RESERVES

Centamin, the gold mining group with operations in Egypt, is pleased to announce an increase in the Sukari proven and probable reserves to 9.1 million ounces Au, an increase of 28%. This follows the re-optimisation of the measured and indicated component of the resource base at a $900/oz gold price.  A summary is as follows:

v The Sukari Ultimate Open Pit Reserves as at 01 August 2010 are as follows:-

Table 1 - Sukari Open Pit Mineral Reserves (as at 01 August 2010)(2)(3)
	Proven		Probable		Mineral Reserve
	Tonnes (Mt)	Au (g/t)	Tonnes (Mt)	Au (g/t)	Tonnes (Mt)	Au (g/t)	Cont Au (Moz)
New Reserve (1)	102.4	1.09	142.9	1.19	245.4	1.15	9.1
Previous Reserve (4)	69.1	1.37	90.1	1.41	159.3	1.39	7.1

Notes to Table:                 ⁽¹⁾ Includes surface stockpiles totalling 3.1Mt @ 0.58 g/t                    

⁽²⁾ Based on as mined surfaced as at 01 August 2010

⁽³⁾ Ultimate Pit design has a waste to ore ratio of 5.5:1

⁽⁴⁾Announced 09 April 2009 at $700/oz Au

v The new ultimate pit design is now designed down to 608 m RL approximately 492 m below the valley floor level.

v Based on a 10Mtpa process plant coming on stream in 2012, this provides Sukari with a 25 year mine life from 2010 securing it as a long term low cost significant gold producer. The Company continues to maintain its strategy and schedule of an elevated cut off grade feed to the process plant followed by a significant plant expansion delivering a 500,000 oz pa production rate in 2012. 

v Importantly an additional 1.41Moz of Inferred mineralisation was captured in the optimisation of Measured and Indicated resource. The potential to convert these blocks to Measured and Indicated will further improve pit economics by lowering the existing 5.5:1 strip ratio and increasing projected revenue streams.

v The optimisation was based on the most recent resource announced on 08 June 2010 as well as a revised Hellman and Schofield model utilising the most recent grade control information to adjust the resource model parameters accordingly.  A cut-off grade as low as 0.3g/t was used for the New Reserve as opposed to 0.4g/t previously reflecting the higher gold price and lower grade oxide ore reporting to the Dump Leach .

v The additional 2Mozs of reserve have primarily been added in the Ra Zone.

v Significantly the optimisation was constrained from extending further to the north due to a lack of drilling and thus continues to remain open to further drill programs now being planned.

v For comparative purposes, the Company also re-optimised at a $700 gold price using the new resource model adjusted for further information received from grade control drilling which resulted in slightly lower grade and higher ore tonnes (announcement 13^th September 2010).  As a result of this adjusted resource model and due to additional resource drilling there is a subsequent increase of 370,000oz with a small decrease in average grade (see Table 2 below).   As such the revised resource model has had negligible impact to the long term economics of Sukari.

Table 2 - Sukari Open Pit Mineral Reserve Estimate $700 Comparison
	Proven		Probable		Mineral Reserve
	Tonnes (Mt)	Au (g/t)	Tonnes (Mt)	Au (g/t)	Tonnes (Mt)	Au (g/t)	Cont Au (Moz)
New Reserve	76	1.26	99	1.37	175	1.32	7.47
Previous Reserve	69	1.37	90	1.41	159	1.39	7.1

v The Sukari pit is being developed in a number of stages and the mining and processing schedule developed for Sukari uses an elevated cutoff grade through the early years to increase the head grade to the processing plant. The material between this elevated cutoff grade and the cutoff grade used for the Mineral Reserve estimate is stockpiled and treated at the end of the project life.

Commenting on the revision, Josef El-Raghy, Chairman of Centamin, said:

"Since February 2010, Centamin has added a further two million ounces of gold reserves to the Sukari project.  The additional grade control and the ongoing pit optimisation work continues to demonstrate the robust nature of the Sukari orebody.  We believe that the orebody remains open to the north and at depth, and we will continue to drive additional growth to Sukari's reserves and resources as the drilling campaign continues."

Centamin Egypt Limited will host a conference call on Wednesday, 15 September 2010 at 09:30am (London, UK time) to update investors and analysts on its reserves upgrade. Participants may join the call by dialling one of the following four numbers, approximately 10 minutes before the start of the call.

From UK: (toll free) 0808 238 7396

From US: (toll free) 1866 793 4273

From Canada: (toll free) 1866 423 2066

From rest of world: + 44 (0)20 3364 5947

Participant pass code: 358488#

A playback of the call will be available on 020 3364 5943 with the conference reference number: 275486#

For Centamin Egypt Limited

Josef El-Raghy

Chairman

15 September 2010

For more information please contact:

Centamin Egypt Limited + 203 5411 259 or + 61 8  9316 2640 Josef El-Raghy www.centamin.com

Buchanan Communications Limited + 44 (0) 207 466 5000 Bobby Morse Katharine Sutton

The information in this report that relates to ore reserves has been compiled by Mr Andrew Pardey. Mr Pardey is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and is a full time employee of the Company. He has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity he is undertaking, to qualify as a "Competent Person" as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" and is a "Qualified Person" as defined in the "National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators" and "CIM Definition Standards For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" of December 2005 as prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions of the Canadian Institute of Mining. Mr Pardey's written consent has been received by the Company for this information to be included in this report in the form and context which it appears.

Information in this report which relates to exploration, geology, sampling and drilling is based on information compiled by geologist Mr Richard Osman who is a full time employee of the Company, and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy with more than five years experience in the fields of activity being reported on, and is a 'Competent Person' for this purpose and is a "Qualified Person" as defined in "National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators". His written consent has been received by the Company for this information to be included in this report in the form and context which it appears.

The assay samples were analysed by Ultra Trace Pty Ltd, Canning Vale, Western Australia.

The information in this report that relates to mineral resources is based on work completed by Mr Nicolas Johnson, who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.  Mr Johnson is a full time employee of Hellman and Schofield Pty Ltd and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style ofmineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a "Competent Person" as defined in the 2004 edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" and is a "Qualified Person" as defined in "National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators".  Mr Johnson consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Refer to the Technical Report which was filed in May 2009 for further discussion of the extent to which the estimate of mineral resources/reserves may be materially affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issue.

 

END

 

 

MSCKKPDNOBKKACD