Nevsun's Tabakoto Mine in Mali proceeding
TABAKOTO MINE UPDATE
Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NSU-TSX and AMEX) is very pleased to report that the final stage of commissioning of the Tabakoto Mine processing plant is nearing completion. The commissioning of the milling operations commenced in February/March 2006 with soft low grade oxide ore being fed to the plant via an auxiliary crushing unit. This allowed the milling, leaching and tailings disposal facilities to be fully commissioned while company staff completed the construction of the three stage crushing plant. Tabakoto’s higher grade unoxidised ore (+5.0 g/t Au) are extremely hard and require three stages of crushing to a half inch product to feed the ball mill at its design of 2000 tonnes per day.
The first gold pour was made at Tabakoto in late March and the first gold shipment was made in mid May. On Monday May 22nd the President of Mali, President Amadou Toumani Toure, officially opened the Tabakoto Mine.
By the end of April ore processing was running at about 90% of design tonnage and by the end of June at design tonnage. With the main feed to the plant continuing to be softer low grade oxide ores, the mill circuit will only be able to be fully tested when the crushing plant has been completed. During the commissioning period to the end of June over 10,000 ounces of gold has been poured.
Commissioning of the primary and secondary crushers commenced in mid June. Bringing the tertiary crusher on stream has taken a further month during which time some modifications to the plant were completed, essential spares were delivered, the primary and secondary units were tested, and site staff were trained. The Company expects a further two weeks of testing before the tertiary crusher is fully commissioned.
Since January 2006, Nevsun has completed the building of the process and site facilities at the Tabakoto Mine using its own management and staff complemented with some key supervisors and skilled artisans retained from the original construction engineering company. Nevsun’s Chief Operating Officer, Gerry Gauthier comments “Finishing the build program at Tabakoto and bringing each stage of the plant on stream ourselves has had its challenges. Building the team and training site staff at the same time has allowed our people to show their metal. We can now look forward to getting on with optimising operations and reassessing our exploration opportunities”.
Forward Looking Statements: [ omitted ]
NEVSUN RESOURCES LTD.
“John A. Clarke”
Dr. John A. Clarke
President & Chief Executive Officer
For further information, Contact:
Judy Baker
(604) 623-4704 or (416) 786-7860 or 1-888-600-2200
e-mail: nevsuninfo@nevsun.com
Website: www.nevsun.com
