La Mancha pours gold at White Foil in Australia

La Mancha Resources (LMA-T) poured its first gold dor bar from its 100%-owned White Foil mine near Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia, and says it’s on track to produce between 13,000 and 16,000 oz. gold this year.

White Foil is La Mancha’s second gold mine in 24 months to start production in Australia. The 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, which is in the eastern goldfields region.

White Foil is being contract-mined, with the ore toll-milled at the nearby Three-Mile-Hill treatment plant, 26 km 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 owns a 40% interest in Hassai, the first modern gold mine in Sudan, and a 45.9% interest in Ity, the first substantial gold mine in Cte d’Ivoire.

The Hassai mine is in the Red Sea Hills desert of northeastern Sudan, 450 km from the national capital Khartoum. Inaugurated in 1992, it is Sudan’s only producing gold mine. Twelve pits have been mined over the years, generating a cumulative production of more than 2.1 million oz. gold. 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) at a cash cost of US$603 per oz.

In 2009, Hassai produced 61,790 oz. (24,715 oz. attributable to La Mancha) at a cash cost of US$724 per oz.

The Ity open-pit mine, about 700 km from Abidjan, has an expected lifespan of about 10 years, and was named after a nearby mountain.

At presstime, La Mancha’s shares were $1.94, trading within a 52-week range of 56¢-$2.25. The gold producer has 142.23 million shares outstanding.