Apollo doubles up on reserves

Vancouver Last year was a good one for Apollo Gold (APG-T). The company increased its ore reserves to 940,800 contained oz of gold from only 385,800 oz in 2001.

Apollo picked up the Florida Canyon mine in Nevada and the Montana Tunnels mine in Montana in 2002 with an eye on boosting the known reserves. However, the greatest strides were made at the Standard Mine project on the Florida Canyon property. With no known reserves at the beginning of 2002, the company outlined proven and probable reserves of 17.2 million tons grading 0.018 oz gold per ton. Production at the project is slated to start in the fourth quarter of 2004. Over 62,000 feet of reverse circulation drilling resulted in the replacement of almost all of the oz. mined at Florida Canyon during 2002. At the end of the year, reserves stood at 20 million tons grading 0.017 oz gold.

At Montana Tunnels, a modest drilling exploration program expanded the reserves from 50,600 oz of gold at year-end 2001 to 19 million tons grading 0.015 oz gold for 291,600 oz of gold.

Apollo is looking for output to reach 200,000 oz of gold this year, having produced 154,860 oz from its Florida Canyon and Montana Tunnels operations in 2002.

In the fourth quarter, the Florida Canyon mine produced 29,551 oz. of gold at a total cash cost of US$244 per oz. bringing its yearly total to 121,516 oz at a total cash cost of US$243 per oz. Montana Tunnels, where prestripping of the pit walls is continuing, added 6,687 development oz and 13,400 gold oz equivalents in the fourth quarter and 33,344 oz at a total cash cost of US$178 per oz for the year. Overall, total cash costs to produce an oz of gold over the entire year came in at US$232. For the fourth quarter, the company realized gold price was US$323 per oz. and US$309 for the year.

Publicly listed since last summer, Apollo Gold is the result of a reverse-takeover by International Pursuit of a creditor-held company, also called Apollo Gold. The creditor company was running the last two Pegasus Gold gold mines still operating after the latter went bankrupt in 1999 (T.N.M., June 10/02).