Rusoro Gets Penultimate Permit For Increible 6 Gold Deposit

Rusoro Mining (RML-V, RMLFF-O) has nailed down the penultimate permit it needs to move its Increible 6 gold deposit in southeastern Venezuela into production.

Increible 6 is in Bolivar state, about 8 km from Rusoro’s Choco 10 mine and mill, where ore from Increible 6 is to be processed.

The permit is the first to be issued this year in Venezuela’s mining sector. The next and final step is for Rusoro to obtain the “permit to affect natural resources” from the Ministry of the Environment. According to the company, the permitting process remains on track for Increible 6 to start production before the end of the year.

Rusoro owns 100% of the deposit, which has indicated resources of 23.5 million tonnes grading 2.11 grams gold per tonne for total contained gold of 1.59 million oz. In the inferred category, Increible 6 holds 17.5 million tonnes grading 1.95 grams gold for 1.1 million oz.

During the second quarter, Rusoro’s 95%-owned Choco mine near the town of El Callao, produced 40,740 oz. gold at a cash cost of US$313 per oz. (By contrast, the mine produced 25,060 oz. gold at a cash cost of US$625 per oz. in the year-earlier quarter.)

According to a scoping study assessing the viability of expanding the Choco mine and mill (which would also incorporate the Increible 6 deposit), an expansion from 135,000 oz. per year (estimated for 2009) to more than 500,000 oz. per year at cash costs of US$331 per oz. over the life of the mine, is possible.

In addition to Increible and the Choco mine and mill, Rusoro owns 50% of the Isidora mine, also near the town of El Callao. Isidora produced more than 7,780 oz. of gold net to the company, at a cash cost per oz. of US$369, in the second quarter. For the entire year, the company expects Isidora will produce a total of 70,000 oz. gold, of which 35,000 oz. is net to the company.

At presstime, Rusoro traded at 46¢ per share in a 52-week trading range of 23.5-94¢ per share. The junior has 500 million shares outstanding.