BOCA RATON, FL, Mar 29, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Andes Gold Corp. (pinksheets:AGCZ), a gold mining company with existing operations in Ecuador, Chief Executive Officer, Robert Talbot, today released information about the company's existing gold reserves, the viability criteria used to establish such reserves, and the potential for future expansion.
"We have seen a lot of speculative press announcements and analyst propaganda over the past few years as the price of gold has exploded," Mr. Talbot explained. "Investors need to consider several factors before believing the hype. First, are the reserves proven? For Andes Gold, we don't consider reserves 'proven' until our mining efforts have reached the gold and we've had an assay study done showing us the concentration of gold, its purity, and the extent of the vein. Many companies out there proclaim to have found gold but are, in fact, several years away from reaching that gold, let alone proving the value and extent of the find.
"Second, and just as import, the gold must be economically viable to extract. Again, we've seen claims of massive gold reserves when in reality, the cost to mine and process the gold is greater than its value. An investor should always ask the relevant question: how much gold per ton is being extracted. At Andes Gold, our average is one ounce of gold per ton of aggregate. What this means is that we can extract and process our gold profitably."
Discussing proven reserves, Mr. Talbot added, "Right now we have proven reserves of over 300,000 ounces. This is gold that we have found, tested and are currently mining. In addition, we have located additional reserves on site and have been evaluating these reserves. We expect that, once the evaluation is completed, and the new ore is tested, our proven reserves will increase substantially."