Luna Gold Corp. (fka LGCUF)

[b4atf]

LUNA GOLD ANNOUNCES RECORD PRODUCTION OF OVER 74,000 OUNCES IN 2012
Vancouver, January 9, 2013 – Luna Gold Corp. (TSX-LGC) (LMA-LGC) (OTCQX-LGCUF) (“Luna” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its gold production at the Aurizona Gold Mine for both the three month period ended December 31 2012 (the “fourth quarter”) and the full year 2012 (“FY 2012”).
The Aurizona Gold Mine produced 21,547 ounces of gold during the fourth quarter. This quarterly record brings Luna’s gold production for 2012 to a total of 74,269 ounces, above the Company’s guidance of between 68,000 and 70,000 ounces.
John Blake, Luna’s President and CEO, stated, “We are encouraged by both another record gold production quarter and a record full year of production. This strong performance can be attributed to increased mill throughput capacity, consistent gold head grade, and improved recovery rates. This level of performance will continue during the first half of 2013, when we anticipate installing a new carbon reactivation kiln, intense leach reactor, and electro-winning cells. The average mining and production rates for the first quarter of 2013 may intermittently reduce as we enter the wet season in Brazil. As a result, we are issuing market guidance of 21,000 ounces for gold production in the first quarter of 2013. And with continuous improvement at the Aurizona Gold mine, we are confident in our full year 2013 gold production reaching 100,000 ounces, a result that will establish a platform for further improvement in 2014.”