Brisbane, April 11, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - North Queensland Metals Limited (ASX: NQM) is pleased to announce the appointment of a General Manager and a Mine Manager to lead the operation and further development of the Pajingo Gold mine near Charters Towers.
NQM is the manager and 60% owner of the mine which it acquired in partnership with Heemskirk Consolidated Limited from Newmont Australia in December 2007. Last month, NQM announced revised Reserves and Resources and a minimum six year mine life with production increasing to 70,000 to 80,000 oz gold a year.
NQM Chief Executive Officer Mr John McKinstry said the appointments of Dr Alex MacDonald as General Manager and Mr Simon Jackson as Mine Manager would complete a first class team to take the mine forward. (Mr McKinstry, who was General Manager at Pajingo in the 1990's under previous ownership, has been acting in the position for the last four months.) "These appointments are very important to both Pajingo and the future of NQM," Mr McKinstry said. "We are extremely fortunate to have secured the services of such high calibre people in a difficult recruitment market.
"We looked for people with strong underground experience and good leadership skills, and had to venture outside Australia to find the best candidates.
"Dr MacDonald and Mr Jackson will be based locally in Charters Towers. NQM takes its social responsibility seriously and we believe that local based managers are best able to engage with the communities in which we do business."
General Manager Pajingo
Dr Alex MacDonald is a mining professional having a B.Sc. Honours Applied Geology and a PhD in Mining Engineering. He has 20 years' experience in the mining industry, much of it in senior roles, and most recently as Chief Operating Officer / General Manager Alluvial Operations and Exploration for African Minerals Ltd where he managed the company's operations in West Africa. African Minerals is a diversified minerals company, with diamond production and exploration, large scale iron ore projects under study, and gold and base metals exploration.
Mine Manager Pajingo
Mr Simon Jackson is a mining engineer with 20 years' experience in the mining industry. His underground experience is second to none in a range of challenging mines and equally challenging roles. Most recently he was Technical Services Manager at Barrick Gold's Turquoise Ridge Operation in Nevada, where he was responsible for strategic planning, mine design and reserve and resource management.
Pajingo management team now completed
Alex MacDonald and Simon Jackson are expected to take up their positions next month. They will join Geoff Phillips, Technical Services Manager and Clark Thompson, Business and Administration Manager to complete the management team at Pajingo.
"Geoff, from his former role as geology manager at Pajingo for Newmont, provides essential and valuable knowledge and continuity in the mine," Mr McKinstry said. "Clark, who has previously been financial controller for a number of medium sized businesses, has provided the drive for implementing the fully integrated accounting and management system and brings a refreshing view on managing the business.
"The fact that we have been able to get production going so early without a complete management and technical team in place is a credit to everyone involved. We now have the leadership and expertise to provide the necessary planning and ensure that the required results are delivered."
Last month NQM announced the following Reserves and Resources for Pajingo:
Reserves Proved Reserve Probable ReserveSource Tonnes g/t oz Tonnes g/t ozUnderground 194,000 8.6 53,000 114,000 6.6 24,000Open pit 230,000 3.3 24,000Total 194,000 8.6 53,000 344,000 4.4 49,000 Reserves 538,000 5.9 102,000Resource Proved Reserve Probable ReserveSource Tonnes g/t oz Tonnes g/t ozUnderground 81,000 10.1 26,000 1,044,000 9.4 317000Open pit 350,000 3.7 42,000Total 81,000 10.1 26,000 1,394,000 8.0 358,000 Resources 1,475,000 8.1 384,000- Note: Due to rounding on tonnage, the numbers in the above tables may not always mathematically add correctly- Note: Resource does not include Reserve
Note:
The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Geoff Phillips, who is a Member of the The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He is a full time employee of NQM Gold. Geoff Phillips has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Geoff Phillips consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Contact
John D McKinstry
Tel: +61-1300-308-832
CEO Fax: +61-7-3666-0510
Email info@nqm.com.au
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