Glencairn reduces cyanide in Bellavista heap

Vancouver – Since the recent ground movement incident and suspension of operations at Glencairn Gold‘s (GGG-T, GLE-X) Bellavista mine in Costa Rica, the company has been rinsing the heap leach pads to reduce cyanide levels and mitigate any environmental risk should the liners breach.

The company says cyanide concentrations are now at acceptable levels that pose no threat to the environment. Testing of solutions discharged from the heap and solids within it have been undertaken by Glencairn and are confirmed by independent labs.

Rainfall in the Miramar region of Costa Rica, where the Bellavista mine is located, continues to be very heavy and has caused further surface erosion in areas of the mine site. Protective tarping has been initiated to reduce the erosion along with reinforcing and filling of eroded areas.

Glencairn states the deep-seated ground creep is continuing in certain areas of the mine site. However, the pit and the area around the processing circuits have not been affected by ground movement.

If a cost-effective remedy to the ground movement issue cannot be found or required permitting for remediation is not obtained, Glencairn acknowledges operations at Bellavista could remain on hold indefinitely.

In July, operations at the Bellavista mine were suspended following ground movements of about one centimetre per day being recorded in sections of the leach pad and waste pile at the open pit gold operation. The issue is thought to be related to water saturation caused by much higher than normal rainfall over the past several years.

Cracks in the stacked ore were first noticed in May and were monitored through June and July. The pad is about 400-by-400 metres with the ore stacked up to about 90 metres.

Remedial measures including drilling of de-watering wells, control of surface water and redistribution of the weight loads were launched by Glencairn.

Glencairn recorded 2006 gold sales of 38,830 oz. from Bellavista at a realized price of US$595 per oz. Cash operating costs at the mine came in at US$316 per oz.

Bellavista proven and probable reserves, as of the end of 2006, stood at 7.9 million tonnes grading 1.44 grams gold per tonne using a 0.5 gram gold cut-off grade.

Shares of Glencairn have slumped to an all-time low of about 15 apiece due to the events at Bellavista.