Century reports progress at Sigma

Vancouver — Margaret Kent (formerly Peggy Witte) is wearing one less hat now that former Royal Oak colleague Michael Werner has accepted the post of chief operating officer at Century Mining (CMM-V), a junior company working to revive the Sigma gold mine in Val d’Or, Que.

Kent is chairman, president and CEO of Century, which last year acquired Sigma and the dormant Carolin gold mine near Hope, B.C. Since then, she has focused her attention on Sigma, a low-grade, open-pit mine that forced previous owner McWatters Mining into bankruptcy.

Plans to restart the mine were delayed by eight weeks earlier this year because of an industry-wide shortage of mining equipment, parts, tires, and even people. As a result, gold production for 2005 has been revised to about 70,000 oz. But once it’s up to speed, the mine is expected to produce 110,000 oz. per year at a cash cost of US$290 per oz.

Of the estimated 192,000 tonnes processed in the mill to date, the bulk has been low-grade material that remained in the pit when McWatters ceased operations. About 1.6 million tonnes of waste were also moved during this period.

In early April, the company began mining and milling ore blocks that had not been drilled by previous operators. The average grade of these blocks was 2.13 grams gold per tonne, which compares favourably to head grades projected in the company’s initial studies.

Based on modelling studies, the next four benches scheduled for mining contain 4.1 million tonnes of waste and 962,000 tonnes of ore grading 2.04 grams gold (including 35% dilution at zero grade).

Century has dropped the mining method used by the previous operator in favour of a selective method that involves box-and-trench cutting of ore blocks to minimize dilution.

Mill throughput has exceeded 4,300 tonnes per day and is soon expected to be at design capacity (50,000 tonnes).

Kent says “significant progress” has been made at Sigma, despite the problems procuring equipment and personnel. “We’re feeling more comfortable with the resource each day, and with our ability to maximize the grade and to minimize the dilution.”

She adds that Century now has “a dynamic acquisition and turnaround team” focused on growth and boosting cash flow. Werner will manage the operations while Kent focuses on mergers and acquisitions.