BELO HORIZONTE, Minas Gerais, Jan. 31, 2012, 2012 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) --Full Year 2011 Highlights
-- Record total gold production of 155,764 ounces, up 13 percent
year over year
-- Total gold sold increased by 10 percent compared to 2010
-- Total underground mine development of 24.8 km, up 32 percent
year over year
-- Underground infill drilling totaled 79,232 meters, up more than
400 percent year over year
Jaguar Mining Inc. ("Jaguar" or "the Company") (JAG: TSX/NYSE) provided today a preliminary update on its Q4 and full year 2011
operating performance.
Total Combined Operations
For the full year 2011, Jaguar produced a Company record 155,764 ounces
of gold. This represented an increase of 13 percent over 2010. The
Company sold a total of 155,525 ounces of gold during the year which
was also a Company record and represented a 10 percent increase over
2010.
Commenting on the Company's operational performance, Jaguar's Chairman
Gary German stated, "We are pleased with the results of the turnaround
program that we initiated in the fourth quarter of 2010. The record
production we achieved this year is a clear indication that we are
making solid progress towards predictable production and ultimately
lower costs at our mines. The turnaround effort is largely complete at
Turmalina and Caeté. Our efforts will be fully focused on Paciência for
the next several quarters as changes in equipment and increased
definition drilling will allow for greater selectivity and reduced
mining dilution."
Continued Investment in Development and Infill Drilling - Southern
Operations
During 2011, Jaguar continued to increase development advance and
improve operational flexibility across all of its operations.
Underground mine development totaled nearly 25 km for the year. The
number of available fully developed stopes was increased from 27 to 46
and the number of operating faces in ore increased from 54 to 88.
Underground infill definition drilling totaled 79,232 meters during the
year, an increase of over 400 percent from 2010.
The increased development and drilling is an investment in predictable,
lower cost gold production. The Company has been catching up on
underground development since Q4 2010 and this accelerated investment
in development will taper off in the second half of 2012 as a
comfortable level of fully developed reserves is achieved at all mines.
The objective of this program is to reduce cash cost per ounce and
allow for the consistent delivery of ounces on plan.
In the fourth quarter of 2011 Jaguar produced 33,397 ounces of gold and
sold 34,157 ounces. The lower quarterly production had been anticipated
due to the continuing repairs to the ball mills at Paciência and
increased throughput of lower grade development ore at all three
operations. Mining operations were further hampered by severe rainy
weather that stopped production for several days at the Roca Grande
surface mine at the Caeté operation. In addition road wash outs
hampered ore haulage to the Caeté plant from the Pilar mine.
2011 Production by Operation
____________________________________________________________
| | Q4 2011 Production | Full Year 2011 Production |
| Operation | (ounces Au) | (ounces Au) |
|___________|____________________|___________________________|
|Turmalina | 13,470 | 61,400 |
|___________|____________________|___________________________|
|Paciàªncia | 6,632 | 39,581 |
|___________|____________________|___________________________|
|Caeté | 13,295 | 54,783 |
|___________|____________________|___________________________|
|Total | 33,397 | 155,764 |
|___________|____________________|___________________________|
Gurupi Project Update
In early January, Jaguar received the installation license which
authorizes the construction of the processing plant for the Gurupi open
pit mine project in the Northern Brazilian state of Maranhão. The
license was a critical step in the development of the Gurupi project
and brings the Company closer to being able to realize the full value
of its assets in Northern Brazil. "We want to thank the Secretary of
the Environment and Natural Resources for the State of Maranhão for
their support and cooperation," Mr. German stated. "Our team has
worked closely with government officials to ensure that all the
licensing requirements were met and we will continue to work with them
to ensure that this outstanding project brings value to the region as
well as to Jaguar shareholders."
The licensing decision for the tailings impoundment facility for the
project is pending subject to company acquisition of surface land
rights for their construction. Several land options are being
considered and the Company is engaging in negotiations with land
holders.
Jaguar is continuing exploration and development at Gurupi with an
aggressive drilling program to further define the rich resource base.
Phase One of the previously announced 30,000 meter infill and step-out
drilling program at Gurupi was completed in January with a total of 98
holes / 22,751 meters. Phase Two of the drilling program has commenced
with 1,158 meters having been drilled. Approximately 80 percent of the
assays from Phase One have been received with the remaining 20 percent
expected to be completed in February 2012. The results to date confirm
the potential to significantly increase gold indicated mineral
resources at the Project's Cipoeiro and Chega Tudo deposits, currently
estimated at 69,887,500 tonnes at 1.12 grams per tonne totaling 2.5
million ounces. While the infill drilling confirms the mineralization
is in line with the grade and width indicated from previous drilling
programs, the step-out drilling demonstrates that the mineralization is
persistent down-dip in both ore bodies as a pervasive pyrite-gold
assemblage associated with NW-SE shear zones. Preliminary results from
deep holes FCTU0023 and KCT420 at Chega Tudo suggest the extension of
the mineralization to a vertical depth of approximately 300 meters.
Previous resource drilling campaigns at the Project had delineated the
mineralization down to 170 meters vertical depth at Cipoeiro and 130
meters vertical depth at Chega Tudo.
"Our excitement and optimism for the Gurupi project continue to grow as
we further define the resources and evaluate the enormous potential,"
Mr. German said.
A full resource re-evaluation of the Cipoeiro and Chega Tudo ore bodies
is expected to be completed in March 2012.
About Jaguar Mining
Jaguar is a junior gold producer in Brazil with operations in a prolific
greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and is developing the
Gurupi Project in Northern Brazil in the state of Maranhão. The
Company is actively exploring and developing additional mineral
resources at its approximate 256,300-hectare land base in Brazil.
Additional information is available on the Company's website at
www.jaguarmining.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the
meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
and applicable Canadian securities laws, concerning the Company. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the words
"believes", "intends", "plans", "expects" and "will". Forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors, which may cause the actual results, or performance to be
materially different from any future results or performance expressed
or implied by the forward-looking statements.
These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and
development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in
interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating
gold prices and monetary exchange rates, the possibility of project
cost delays and overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses,
uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing
needed in the future,uncertainties related to production rates, timing
of production and the cash and total costs of production, changes in
applicable laws including laws related to mining development,
environmental protection, and the protection of the health and safety
of mine workers, the availability of labor and equipment, the
possibility of labor strikes and work stoppages and changes in general
economic conditions. Although the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to
differ materially from those described in forward-looking information,
there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to
differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended.
These forward-looking statements represent our views as of the date of
discussion. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and
developments may cause the Company's views to change. The Company does
not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, either written
or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the
Company subsequent to the date of this discussion except as required by
law. For a discussion of important factors affecting the Company,
including fluctuations in the price of gold and exchange
rates,uncertainty in the calculation of mineral resources,
competition, uncertainty concerning geological conditions and
governmental regulations and assumptions underlying the Company's
forward-looking statements,see the "CAUTIONARY NOTE" regarding
forward-looking statements and "RISK FACTORS" in the Company's Annual
Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2010 filed on System
for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval and available at http://www.sedar.com and the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended
December 31, 2010 filed with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission and available at www.sec.gov.
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SOURCE: Jaguar Mining Inc.
Investors and analysts: Roger Hendriksen Vice President Investor Relations
603-224-4800 rhendriksen@jaguarmining.com Media inquiries:
Valeria Rezende DioDato Director of Communication 603-224-4800
valeria@jaguarmining.com