– of a few million ounces
SANDSPRING Resources Ltd, another Canadian gold mining company operating in Guyana, announced, last week, its intention to join in large- scale production by the year 2013.
It made the announcement while disclosing significant increases in the quantities of gold discovered during exploration in the Toroparu, Upper Puruni area, of Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), over the past seven months.
Sandspring’s mineral resource update for its Toroparu Project from September 2010 shows a 32 per cent increase in measured and indicated gold and 40 per cent in potentially mineable deposits at Toroparu, a release said.
The actual figures said measured and indicated mineable gold, at March 2011, amounted to 3.51 million ounces plus potentially mineable 4.93 million ounces, up from September 2010, when measured and indicated were 2.64 million ounces and potentially mineable 3.42 million ounces.
The statistics add approximately 2.42 million ounces to the measured and indicated and potentially mineable September 2010 estimates.
The recent release said the company is pleased to announce receipt of a positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for development of its 100 per cent owned Toroparu gold-copper project in Guyana.
President of Sandspring, Mr. Abraham Drost said the PEA gives the company impetus towards a large-scale mining permit and first four years production of 310,000 ounces gold and 29 million pounds of copper, at average cash cost of US$317 per ounce of gold.
Sandspring said its PEA incorporates activities during a pre-production construction period of 24 months, including building off-site infrastructure, installation of camp accommodations, on-site heavy fuel oil electric power plant and transmission lines, mill processing facility and tailings impoundment.

WORK PLAN

It said the 2011 work plan for Toroparu includes initiation of a definitive feasibility study, additional definition and exploration drilling, geotechnical drilling and testing, further metallurgical testing and optimisation of milling and recovery process flow sheets.
Those programmes will move the Toroparu Project towards delivery of another feasibility study in 2012, the release said.
It added that Sandspring will continue to conduct exploratory drilling and regional exploration efforts to increase the potential for further development of both Toroparu and the 1,000 square kilometres Upper Puruni mining concessions.
“With extensive mining production experience in the United States and Guyana, Sandspring, through its wholly-owned Guyanese subsidiary, E.T.K. Inc, is well on the way to establishing Guyana’s next large-scale gold producer,” Drost said.
The company said its definition of the life of the mine includes 13 years of pit plus four years of stockpile reclamation and processing periods.
It said Sandspring represents 10 years of private operational experience locally, with the former private company E.T.K Inc, before, recently, becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Meanwhile, in a recent statement, Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Claude Lamasson, of Guyana Goldfield Inc, another Canadian investor mining in Guyana, also expressed enthusiasm over gold finds in the Cuyuni and indicated it intends to start large-scale mining by 2014.