Mineral Deposits Limited (MDL) – Bringing Sabodala in Senegal into Gold Production at ~170,000ozpa from January 2009

• Mineral Deposits (MDL) has two company-making projects in Senegal, West Africa. The first being its Sabodala Gold Project is under construction and expected to pour its first bar of gold by January 2009. The second is the Grande Côte Zircon (mineral sands) Project which has yet to complete financing (possibly in mid-2009), enter construction and move into production.
• The rated (hard rock) design capacity of the Sabodala’s Ausenco constructed plant is 2mtpa, which is expected to achieve the usual 20% above capacity rating for throughput ~2.4mtpa. However, there are a number of additional oxide sources (including the skin over the orebody) that could take the initial throughput closer to 3mtpa, and the plant has clearly been designed for expansion.
• Sabodala expects to produce ~170,000oz (from 2mtpa at ~3g/t) in its first year (CY09). However, unexpected mineralisation at up to 10g/t has already been encountered in the pre-strip, and with the pit starting on the historical mine that averaged ~4.5g/t, the first year of production could be >190,000oz.
• There appear to be many similarities between Sabodala’s and Avoca’s gold mineralisation at Higginsville with flats and steeply dipping lodes in gabbros and volcanoclastics, plunging northwards. The mine life could be >10 years with additional higher grade underground components (initially mining one of the flats in the walls of the pit in years 5 to 8, being possibly ~400,000tpa at ~5g/t).
• MDL are increasing their understanding and interpretation of the mineralisation controls in the Sabodala pit, before extending that knowledge into the regional discoveries (some of which appear to have potential).