Orinoco to commence underground development at Cascavel

THE DRILL SERGEANT: The Board of Orinoco Gold (ASX: OGX) has formally approved commencement of underground mine development at the company’s Cascavel gold project in central Brazil.

A mining team is to start the excavation and development of the main incline shaft, which will provide access to the high-grade ore zones.

This is scheduled to kick off in early May 2015, which Orinoco heralded as a key milestone the company’s progress towards gold production.

The company’s decision to mine follows completion of due diligence by its funding partner, Singapore-based private mining investment company Chancery Asset Management, and clears the way for the provision of a US$8 million gold sharing arrangement that was announced in March.

Orinoco said this underpins an overall $14 million funding package for the development of Cascavel, which is based on an estimated capital outlay of US$6.6 million to establish a standalone initial 40,000 tonnes per annum operation using a simple gravity circuit to process high-grade underground ore.

“The start of underground mine development at Cascavel represented a significant milestone in the company’s history,” Orinoco Gold managing director Mark Papendieck said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Making the transition from explorer to producer is a big step for any company, and this marks the beginning of that transformational process for Orinoco.

“We look forward to providing further details in the near future about our overall construction timetable and contractor arrangements.”

Email: info@orinocogold.com

Website: www.orinocogold.com