Rusoro gets penultimate permit for Increible 6 gold deposit

Rusoro Mining (RML-V) has nailed down the penultimate permit it needs to move its Increible 6 gold deposit in southeastern Venezuela into production.

Increible 6 is in Bolivar state, about 8 km from Rusoro’s Choco 10 mine and mill, where ore from the Increible 6 is to be processed.

The permit is the first to be issued this year in Venezuela’s mining sector. The next and final step is for Rusoro to obtain the Permit to Affect Natural Resources from the Ministry of the Environment. According to the company, the permitting process remains on track for Increible 6 to start production before the end of the year.

Rusoro owns 100% of the deposit, which has indicated resources of 23.5 million tonnes grading 2.11 grams gold per tonne for total contained gold of 1.59 million ounces. In the inferred category Increible 6 holds 17.5 million tonnes grading 1.95 grams gold per tonne for total contained gold of 1.1 million ounces.

During the second quarter, Rusoro’s 95%-owned Choco mine near the town of El Callao, produced 40,739 ounces of gold at a cash cost of US$313 per oz. (By contrast the mine produced 25,062 ounces of gold at a cash cost of US$625 per oz. in the year-earlier quarter.)

According to a scoping study assessing the viability of expanding the Choco mine and mill (which would also incorporate the Increible 6 deposit), an expansion from 135,000 ounces per year (estimated for 2009) to more than 500,000 ounces per year at cash costs of US$331 per oz. over the life of the mine, is possible.

In addition to Increible and the Choco mine and mill, Rusoro owns 50% of the Isidora mine, also near the town of El Callao. Isidora produced 7,784 ounces of gold net to the company, at a cash cost per ounce of US$369, in the second quarter. For the entire year the company expects Isidora will produce a total of 70,000 ounces of gold, 35,000 ounces of which is net to the company.

At presstime Rusoro was trading at 46¢ per share and has a 52-week trading range of 23.5¢-94¢ per share. The junior has 499.5 million shares outstanding.