RSS UpdatesCompany Information for Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd
Company stock charts - 6 Month chart
 ASX; KCN
View full financial data |
Company Statement
Kingsgate Consolidated Limited (Kingsgate) is a highly successful gold mining and exploration company, traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (KCN: ASX). The company owns and operates the low cost Chatree gold mine in central Thailand through its Thai subsidiary, Akara Mining Limited, using world's best practice for safe, environmental and socially responsible operations.
A rapidly growing reserve/resource position is fuelled by exploration within a surrounding gold province which exhibits world class potential.
Our Vision
Kingsgate's vision is to be a preferred gold company delivering shareholder value through profit and growth. We are continually assessing new business opportunities and recognise that the strength of our relationships, our experience in both low sulphidation epithermal gold deposits and in Asia, and our operating expertise will provide the opportunities for growth.
Growth is propelled by focused gold exploration and prudent acquisitions producing high margin operations. Our expertise is based on embracing cultural diversity and skill development, fostering teamwork and a focus on the best result for all stakeholders.
We have special expertise in Asia and will evaluate potential opportunities in China and other areas of South East Asia.
Within Thailand our strategy is to explore:
- Within the mine lease,
- Adjacent to the Chatree mine,
- Within economic trucking distance of the Chatree process plant.
Current Operations
Chatree Gold Mine
Construction of the Chatree Gold Mine took place between December 2000 and October 2001 with commissioning in November 2001. It was completed within time and under budget and commercial production commenced on 27 November 2001.
An expansion to the Chatree plant was completed in December 2003 with an expanded grinding and leaching circuit and increased throughput from 1-1.3 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) to 2 Mtpa, above the designed capacity of 1.8 Mtpa. This expansion was completed on time and under budget.
Installation of a pebble crusher increased plant capacity to 2.4 Mtpa in early 2006 and has operated consistently at that rate since.
The ore has a high metallurgical recovery (89-91%) with gold and silver extraction by standard Carbon in Leach (CIL) processing with destruction of cyanide in the pulp to 5-7ppm prior to delivery to the tailings storage facility.
An expansion to the Chatree plant was completed in December 2003 and increased throughput from 1-1.3 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) to 2 Mtpa, above the design capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per year.This expansion was completed on time and under budget.
Installation of a pebble crusher increased plant capacity to 2.4 Mtpa in June 2006. A further expansion to 5 Mtpa is planned for 2009-2010 to significantly increase gold production from new mining areas at Chatree North.
Conventional open pit mining methods are used at Chatree to extract gold ore from open pits.
Mining and haulage costs are critical items in open pit operations. Chatree introduced a local Thai earthmover to contract mining in 2001. This local Thai mining contractor, Lotus Hall, has then expanded to other operations in Laos and Thailand. This has resulted in significant business for local enterprises. This contract was updated in 2007 to allow for a new and expanded mining fleet, supported by Caterpillar, for increased production from the Chatree North mining areas.
Mineral Resources
The company's exploration program expanded the resources and reserves substantially from 2000 to 2006. Ore Reserves are 1.6 million ounces of gold as at 30 April 2007.
Mineral Resources are 3.4 million ounces of gold, as at 30 April 2007, and 30 million ounces of silver. New discoveries have been made at various locations north and south of the existing operation, demonstrating mineralisation occurs over approximately 23 kilometres in strike length as well as to the west of current operations.
Production
Total production at Chatree for the year ended 30 June 2008 was 74,137 ounces of gold (2007: 85,994 ounces) and 232,039 ounces of silver (2006: 290,897 ounces) at a total cash cost of US$ 457 per ounce (2006: US$440 per ounce) and total production cost of US$556 per ounce.
Thai Subsidiary
Akara Mining Limited is the Thai subsidiary which operates Chatree.
Thai investors hold 52% of the share issued in Akara with the remaing 48% held by Kingsgate. Kingsgate maintains management control and provides regularly updated technical support to ensure the world-class standards and technical skills are maintained.
Processing
Since commencing operations throughput has consistently exceeded the design capacity of the plant. The ore is passed through a jaw crusher where it is crushed down to less than six inches in size and then conveyed to a crushed ore stockpile which holds one week’s supply of plant feed.
Crushed ore is fed into a semi autogenous grinding (SAG) mill and ball mill where it is ground to the consistency of very fine sand (minus 75 micron size) and pumped to the cyclone tower prior to entering the cyanide leach (CIL) tanks
Gold and silver is leached from the ore by cyanide and is absorbed onto carbon grains.
The gold bearing carbon is collected and the metals are stripped from it and then passed through an electrowinning cell in which the metal is electroplated onto the cathode. The metal is recovered as sludge and is dried and smelted in a gas furnace before pouring into gold/silver bars.
Cyanide and water is recycled as much as possible with any excess cyanide being destroyed prior to disposal with the tailings (the residual fine ground rock) into the tailings storage facility. Cyanide levels have been historically around 5 ppm total cyanide upon entering the storage facility which is similar to levels found in a cup of instant coffee.
The gold/silver bars are shipped to a refinery in Hong Kong for final separation into saleable gold and silver (i.e. 99.999 fine gold).
Expansion & Exploration
A revitalised exploration programme, with an aggressive resource development drilling campaign, is underway on known extensions to ore bodies within the Chatree North mining leases. Resources are expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. Key regional drill-ready gold prospects are also being drill tested.
Exploration had previously focused on three areas:
- the main Chatree Mining Leases, aiming to extend the mine life
- the new Chatree North Mining Leases, up to 2006, to ensure sufficient ore available to allow for an expansion to the processing plant, and
- defining new drill-ready gold prospects.
Drilling in the Chatree North Mine Leases is focused on extending the known orebodies and expanding resources and reserves of the A pit to the west and north, and the central-northern areas of the Q pits. Work in the last two years has refined the mineralised zones in the A pit and encountered some wider ore zones at higher grades.
The new drilling campaign is expected to significantly increase the current resource and reserve base. Mineral Resources currently stand at 3.2 million ounces of gold and 1.4 million ounces of Ore Reserves, as at 30 June 2008. Previous aggressive exploration campaigns, from 2003-2006, demonstrated that the average cost of discovering gold was US$7 per ounce in the resource category and US$12-15 per ounce in the reserve category.
Resources were expanded by 0.5 million to 1 million ounces a year during that period, which is anticipated to be repeated over the next few years. It is anticipated that resources will be added at a rapid rate as the mineralisation continues to be extended within and beyond Chatree North, with the system open in virtually every direction. The gold mineralisation at Chatree is closely associated with a 'resistivity' geophysical signature which is an effective targeting tool for drilling.
The area surrounding the Chatree Mine has been termed the Chatree Volcanic Complex and this area is developing into a world class gold system. Kingsgate geologists believe the potential exists for 10 million ounces of gold in the Chatree area alone, over time, apart from other discoveries further from the mine.
Regional exploration has continued to identify new drill-ready prospects, within the granted exploration leases, with a substantial increase in ground geophysical coverage. Negotiations have continued on land access in order to drill the best exploration targets of the forty targets identified to date. One key target with a surface geochemical signature larger than Chatree is ready to be drill tested.
One key regional target, the Chokdee Prospect, has a surface geochemical signature larger than Chatree. It is considered a major new gold discovery with significant wide ore-grade gold intersected downhole with high grade zones of 11-20 grams/tonne gold over 1-6 metres width downhole. Success came in the first drillholes within silica & clay altered volcanics and sediments, similar to Chatree. Rock chip assays returned between 1 - 108 g/t gold. This is the first of many drill-ready targets to be tested.
Geographical Spread
Thailand - Chatree gold mine
Board of Directors and Key Management
| Ross Smyth-Kirk | Non-Executive Chairman |
| Gavin Thomas | Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer |
| Craig Carracher | Non-Executive Director |
| John Falconer | Non-Executive Director |
| Peter McAleer | Non-Executive Director |
| Senior Management | |
| Peter Warren | Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary |
| Phil MacIntyre | Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, Akara Mining Limited |
| Stephen Promnitz | Manager Corporate Development |
| Ron James BSc | General Manager Exploration and Resource Development |
Company AddressSuite 801 Level 8
|
Capital93 million shares outstanding |
Annual General MeetingMonday 9th November 2009 | Year End31 December |
Major Shareholders
| JABRE Capital Partners | 7.51% |
| UBS Nominees | 9.35% |
| Gold 2000 Limited | 7.44% |
Related News
19/01/10 - Kingsgate Consolidated Expands Its Operations In Thailand, And Goes On A Worldwide Hunt For Deals04/06/09 - Kingsgate Is Back On Track With Its Thai Gold Projects, And Australian Brokers Are Struggling To Keep Up
19/11/08 - After A Turbulent Twelve Months, Kingsgate Consolidated Gets Down To The Business Of Producing Gold Profitably
03/06/08 - Kingsgate Gets Ready To Expand If The Thai Government Lives Up To Expectations
Most Recent Statement
12/03/10 - Revision to `DRP Share Price` Announcement11/03/10 - Dividend Reinvestment Plan Share price
02/03/10 - Dividend from Conduit Foreign Income
24/02/10 - Half Year Dec`09 Financial Report
19/01/10 - Quarterly Activities Report
12/01/10 - New Gold Zones - D Pit may Reopen