VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 28, 2013) - American Bonanza Gold Corp. (TSX:BZA)(OTCQX:ABGFF) ("Bonanza" or "Company") is pleased to announce progress at the 100% owned Copperstone gold mine in Arizona during April 2013.
April experienced steady progress towards design rates as the focus on mine planning yielded higher ore grades, increased development footage, further production footage, and slightly higher recovery figures than March. Early indicators show that this trend continues in May with 718 Oz of gold shipped in the first twenty days of May 2013.
Production Summary (see below for detailed breakdown of figures)
| Development Mining | January '13 | February '13 | March '13 | April '13 | |||||||
| Zones | < 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | |||||||
| Development mined | 146 t/d | 253 t/d | 167 t/d | 291 t/d | |||||||
| Ore Mining | |||||||||||
| Total rock mined | 463 t/d | 562 t/d | 474 t/d | 622 t/d | |||||||
| Ore mined | 317 t/d | 308 t/d | 347 t/d | 331 t/d | |||||||
| Rounds per day mined | 5 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 4.9 | |||||||
| Ore Processing | |||||||||||
| Ore processed | 322 t/d | 315 t/d | 333 t/d | 346 t/d | |||||||
| Mill recovery | 82 | % | 86 | % | 80 | % | 81 | % | |||
| Concentrates | |||||||||||
| Gravity concentrate | 15 Oz/ t | 47 Oz/t | 34 Oz/t | 30 Oz/t | |||||||
| Flotation concentrate | 23 Oz/t | 30 Oz/t | 18 Oz/t | 27 Oz/t | |||||||
| Gold shipped | 520 Oz | 878 Oz | 670 Oz | 815 Oz |
Ore Mining
- 827 feet of ore was mined, which is 11% more than March. The mine performed at an average of 4.9 rounds of mining progress per day.
- Total ore mined for April was 331 t/d. Mine production levels decreased slightly from March as the focus during the month was to catch-up on development mining. Increasing backfill productivity is a focus for May in order to increase production levels towards the target design rate.
Development Mining
During April the results of the new mining plan, announced in March, saw an increase of 56% relative to the previous month in development footage, to 827 feet during April.
Ore Processing
- The milled tons increased in April from 10,322 in March to 10,393.
- The grade also improved to 0.0969 in April - from 0.0808 in March.
- Mill recovery during April averaged 81%. Whilst the recovery rate showed improvement, it is expected that higher recovery rates will be attained once the improvement in the head grade is achieved as a result of the new mine planning.
Concentrates
815 ounces of gold were shipped during April, and 718 ounces were shipped during the first twenty days of May. This is due to the increased focus on geology and assay results to limit dilution of higher grade ore, and as a result of the revised mine planning activity.
Mr. Brian Kirwin, President & CEO, commented:
"The impact of the new mining approach is beginning to take effect, and early indicators show that May started off positively. The priority is to continue to develop more ore headings while improving the head grade going to the mill. With this sustained focus by our engineering and geology departments, we are working hard to achieve design rates, and thereby commercial production, as soon as possible."
Mine and mill performance for the month of May will be announced towards the end of June.
The Company announces the resignation of Mr. Giulio Bonifacio as director of Bonanza. Mr. Bonifacio is reducing his directorships in order to focus on his other business interests. Mr. Bonifacio's knowledge and experience were invaluable to the development of the Company. We thank him for his many years with Bonanza and wish Mr. Bonifacio continued success in all of his business endeavours.
About American Bonanza Gold Corp: Bonanza is operating the newly constructed Copperstone gold mine in Arizona. For more information please visit Bonanza's website at www.americanbonanza.com .
AMERICAN BONANZA GOLD CORP.
Brian Kirwin, President & Chief Executive Officer
We seek safe harbour.
