• During Q1 2012, mining of Salman North 1A and 1B pits continued whilst Teberu 04 commenced in February 2012
  • Phase 2 of the tailings storage facility raise is in progress
  • During Q1 2012, the Nzema Mine contributed $22.7 million towards the total cash margin of $38.9 million
  • During Q1 2012, the Nzema Mine contributed $11.3 million towards earnings from mining operations and generated $11.8 million of operating cash flow from mine operations
  • Salman resettlement was completed and inauguration ceremony was held on March 17, 2012
  • Mill throughput increased to a record 255,000 tonnes
  • Metallurgical recovery improved to 94.9%
  • Grid Power Project progress -- Phase II to improve grid power supply quality and availability is scheduled for completion in Q3/2012
  • Further exploration progress yielding positive results on both current operating pits and proximal new deposits within the Youga mine exploitation permit
  • During Q1 2012, the Youga Mine contributed $16.1 million towards the total cash margin of $38.9 million
  • During Q1 2012, the Youga Mine contributed $15.1 million towards earnings from mining operations and generated $12.6 million of operating cash flow from mine operations
  • Work commenced in the first quarter on the construction of the $0.25 million Youga high school project which is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2012. In addition, a number of other corporate social responsibility initiatives relating to health, education and social interaction were progressed including donations of medicines and an ambulance to Zabre hospital, upgrading of a youth centre and the provision of maintenance services for the Youga medical clinic / maternity ward and primary school
Endeavour is nearing completion of the Agbaou engineering optimization studies which take into account the improved resources/reserves from the successful drilling campaigns of 2010 and 2011. The current project parameters include development costs in the range of $150 to $175 million, annual gold production of approximately 100,000 ounces per year, and cash costs (excluding royalties) in the range of $650 per ounce. The estimated development cost increase reflects a combination of an increase in the planned process plant throughput, anticipated to enhance project economics; and global inflationary pressure on mining project costs. A NI 43-101 technical report is scheduled to be ready within the next few weeks. Furthermore, Endeavour has been engaged in discussions with the Côte d'Ivoire government to obtain a mining permit and, in parallel, Endeavour is finalizing the EPCM contractor selection. Exploration is currently being conducted on authorized permits in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia and Mali. Endeavour's land position is the third largest in West Africa and covers over 10,000 square kilometres. The Corporation has approved an exploration budget of $34.0 million for 2012 that is expected to include approximately 215,000 metres of drilling, of which approximately $20.0 million is directed towards increasing resources and reserves to extend mine lives at the Nzema and Youga operations, $6.0 million towards increasing resources and reserves at Agbaou, $6.4 million towards delineating resources and conducting further metallurgical testing of the Nzema sulphides in Ghana, and the balance towards regional programs. During Q1 2012, $9.7 million of the approximate $20.0 million "near-mine" exploration program was completed. The positive results from the near mine exploration along the Brassiere Trend at Youga, which included YZRC-201: 42m of 3.4 g/t (including 1m at 14.5 g/t and 4m at 6.3 g/t) was disclosed in a news release on April 30, 2012. On May 2, 2012, Endeavour announced the expansion of the sulphide drilling program at Nzema following review of the drilling results to date, the delivery of the Conceptual Trade-off Study by AMEC Minproc Limited and the initial metallurgical testwork completed at SGS Australia Minerals Services. The drilling results to date have confirmed the presence of several sulphide ore shoots below the principal oxide pits at the Salman Trend. This refractory gold mineralization represents a target that Endeavour believes has the potential to significantly increase production at Nzema. Net earnings / (loss) from continuing operations have been adjusted for the impact of the fair value change of both the gold hedge liability, Endeavour's warrants that are denominated in Canadian dollars, and other financial instruments, which are non-cash items. In addition, the non-cash impact of the increase in the Ghana corporate income tax rate, from 25% to 35%, on the deferred income tax liability was adjusted. Endeavour is pleased to announce that Michelle Borthwick has been appointed as Corporate Secretary. Management will host two conference calls to discuss the Q1 results, at times convenient for the Australian and North American time zones. Both conference calls will feature Neil Woodyer, Chief Executive Officer, Mark Connelly, Chief Operating Officer, and Christian Milau, Chief Financial Officer. Analysts and interested investors are invited to participate using the dial in numbers below. The same dial in numbers will be used for both conference calls. The calls will be archived for later playback on Endeavour's website until May 9, 2013. Adriaan "Attie" Roux, Pr. Sci.Nat, Endeavour's Senior Vice President -- Operations, is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical information related to mining operations in this news release. K. Kirk Woodman, P.Geo., Endeavour's General Manager of Exploration, is the Qualified Person overseeing exploration projects in French West Africa and has reviewed and approved the technical information related to Mineral Resource Estimates at the Youga Mine contained in this news release. Adrian de Freitas, MIMMM, C. Eng., Endeavour's General Manager, Youga Mine is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical information related to mining operations at the Youga Mine contained in this news release. Endeavour is a gold producer delivering growth. Endeavour owns two gold mines producing approximately 180,000 ozs per year in Ghana and Burkina Faso that are generating significant operating cash flows to fund exploration and development growth. In addition to upside potential at its current operations, Endeavour's gold project in Côte d'Ivoire is ready for construction (mining permit submitted; currently negotiating EPCM contract) for an additional 100,000 ozs per year. Endeavour's strong financial base encourages investments in long-term operational growth, exploration to replace and increase reserves, and funding for acquisitions. Endeavour Mining Corporation is listed on the TSX (symbol EDV) and ASX (symbol EVR), and also trades on the OTCQX (symbol EDVMF). A Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability.
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