A U S TR A L I A N UP DaTE Allied Gold expanding South Pacific resources and operations Allied Gold Ltd. [ALG-TSX; ALD-ASX; ALGD-AIM] has completed its takeover of former TSX-listed Australian Solomons Gold and announced March 26 that mining would resume at its Gold Ridge Mine about 40 kilometres from Honiara, capital of the Solomons. Allied Gold already has a producing mine, the Simbieri, in Papua New Guinea. On the same day that Allied told the market about its Gold Ridge plans, it also announced that Perth-based GR Engineering Services had been awarded a contact to design and build a plant which will process 3 million tpa and increase output at the mine to 100,000 ounces/year. Earlier this year, Allied told shareholders and the market that it was buying back its interests in the Big Tabar and Tatau Islands copper-gold exploration licenses from Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, NYSE]. These deposits are only 20 kilometres from the Simberi Project. Allied is increasing its resources and reserves and at the same time has unwound its hedge book. Simberi has 156.6 million tonnes at 1.13 grams/tonne for 5.69 million ounces in the measured, indicated and inferred categories. Gold Ridge has 37.8 million tonnes at 1.74 grams/tonne for 2.11 million ounces of gold. This means Allied is sitting on resources and reserves totaling around 7.8 million ounces of gold. Executive Chairman, Mark Caruso, is aiming for reserves and resources in excess of 3 million ounces and 10 million ounces, respectively, by the end of this year. Simberi is located about 60 kilometres northwest of Lihir’s eponymous gold project, which hosts an approximate 40 million ounce gold resource, and is in the Pacific Rim of Fire. Allied is currently producing by Greg Barns about 80,000 ounces of gold/year from an open pit and gold processing plant operation. The company expects to increase annual gold production by 20,000 ounces through expansion of its oxide ore processing plant, expected to be completed by year end. Allied also believes that its sulphide resources provide an opportunity to add ounces to annual production and it has commenced a sulphide pre-feasibility study which is looking at a 100,000 ounces/year sulphide operation to start in 2012. The Gold Ridge Project operated as an open cut mine over a decade ago but political unrest caused its closure. A concerted effort by the Australian and New Zealand governments enabled the Solomon Islands to become more politically stable. Recently Allied attended a ceremony with Solomon Islands’ politicians ecu silver producing metals and increasing resources ECU Silver Mining Inc. [ECU-TSX] is in the enviable position of having developed substantial metal resources while, at the same time, over the first 10 months of mining operations, generated gold and silver sales of about 750,000 ounces in silver equivalent terms (gold+silver+lead+zinc). Precious metals comprise about 66% of recoverable metals. The company’s mineral properties, located in Durango State, Mexico, host over 46 mineral-rich veins clustered around five past-producing mines on its Velardeña land holdings in the historically prolific Velardeña Mining District. ECU Silver also owns two operating mills 40 with a combined capacity of 820 tonnes per day (TPD). A 320 TPD flotation mill (the sulphide mill) treats mineralized sulphide material to generate a lead/silver concentrate, a zinc concentrate, and a pyrite/gold concentrate. A 500 tpd cyanide leach mill (the oxide mill) treats mineralized oxide material to produce silver/gold doré bars. During the eights months of mining and milling operations in 2009, the company treated 126,572 tonnes of material in the oxide mill (plus another 12,651 in the sulphide mill). This is the first year of operations for the oxide mill and an average of over 500 TPD were processed, which is the target capacity of the oxide mill. For January 2010, mining and milling operations yielded a silver equivalent of 59,510 ounces from the oxide mill and 37,476 ounces from the sulphide mill. Average daily throughput at the oxide mill was 650 TPD. For February 2010, a total of 65,101 ounces of silver equivalent were mined and milled, using a silver-to-gold ratio of 70-to-one (base metals not included as equivalents) at an average daily throughput at the oxide mill of about 640 TPD. For March, ECU produced 33,614 ounces and 705 ounces of gold at a daily throughput of 494 TPD. However, this is only part of the story. ECU Silver has posted substantial increases in its silver equivalent resources since 2006. Independent consultants Micon International have prepared an NI 43-101 compliant report that estimated measured and indicated resources of 40 million silver equivalent ounces and an inferred resource of 391 million silver equivalent ounces. These resources have potential for expansion as mineralization remains open laterally and to depth. This additional potential is represented by a mineral potential that has been quantified at an additional 570 to 930 million silver equivalent ounces. M ay 2 0 1 0 www.resourceworld.com