www.lamancha.ca
La Mancha is a diversified gold producer with more than 1,200 employees worldwide. La Mancha operates three gold mines, with production strategically distributed between Africa and Australia, and is actively developing an advanced project in Australia. Due to its geographic diversification, La Mancha holds the majority of its resources in low risk countries.
La Mancha expects to raise 2009 gold production by up to 40 percent vs 2008
La Mancha Resources Inc said it expects to produce between 85,000 and 100,000 ounces of gold in 2009, an increase of up to 40 percent over last year, at an average cash cost of US$497 per ounce.
The bulk of the production increase is expected to come from the newly-producing Frog's Leg mine in Australia, which commenced production in May 2008 and should operate at full capacity throughout the current year, producing between 37,000 and 42,000 ounces.
Improved performance at the Ity mine in Cote d'Ivoire is also expected to help increase La Mancha's attributable production, while gold production at the Hassai mine in Sudan is expected to remain stable as the transition from siliceous-baritic rock to quartz ore continues.
Following the recently-published positive feasibility study for the White Foil project in Australia, management has commenced discussions with nearby milling facilities to secure a milling agreement so as to rapidly put the project into production.
As no milling agreement has been signed to date, La Mancha has excluded any White Foil production from its 2009 production forecast. However, it believes it is possible for the White Foil project to start contributing to La Mancha's global production before year-end.
Based on the feasibility study, White Foil is expected to yield 69,160 ounces of gold production over a 27-month period.
