La Mancha pours first gold at While Foil mine in Australia

La Mancha Resources (LMA-T) poured its first gold dore bar from its 100%-owned White Foil mine near Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia and says it is on track to produce between 13,000 and 16,000 oz. gold this year.

The White Foil mine is La Mancha’s second gold mine in 24 months to start production in Australia.

The White Foil mine is about 2 km from the Frog’s Leg underground mine, in which La Mancha holds a 51% stake, and 25 km west of Kalgoorlie, in the eastern goldfields region of Western Australia, part of the Kundana goldfield.

White Foil is being contract-mined, with the ore toll-milled at the nearby Three-Mile-Hill treatment plant, l 26km from the White Foil pit.

The milling agreement provides La Mancha with a minimum milling capacity of 200,000 tonnes in 2010, shared equally between two milling campaigns scheduled for April and September.

In addition to its two producing gold mines in Australia, La Mancha also owns a 40% interest in Hassai, the first gold mine in Sudan, and a 45.9% interest in Ity, the first gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Hassaï mine is in the Red Sea Hills desert of northeastern Sudan, 450 km from Khartoum. Inaugurated in 1992, it is Sudan’s first and only gold mine in production. Twelve pits have been mined over the years, generating a cumulative production of more than 2.1 million oz. old. La Mancha is the mine manager and operator and the mine currently has an estimated mine life of five years.

Gold production in 2008 amounted to 73,175 oz. (29,270 oz. attributable to La Mancha). In 2009, Hassaï is expected to produce up to 75,000 oz. (30,000 oz. attributable to La Mancha) at an average cash cost of US$673.

The Ity open-pit mine is about 700 km from Abidjan. The mine, which has an expected lifespan of about ten years, was named after a nearby mountain. In 2008 the Ity mine poured its 1,000th gold bar.

La Mancha closed down 3¢ at $1.97 per share and over the last year has traded in a range of 38¢ -$2.25 per share. The gold producer has 142.23 million shares outstanding.