Haile reserve tops 13 million tons

The Haile property near Kershaw, S.C., has proven and probable reserves of 13.2 million tons grading 0.091 oz. gold per ton, a consulting group estimates.

Piedmont Mining (NASDAQ), 37.5% owners of the project, commissioned American Mine Services and other independent consultants to complete the study.

Of the total reserves, those minable by open pit are estimated at 7.14 million tons grading 0.11 oz. gold per ton at a strip ratio of 6.4-to-1. The estimate is based on a price of US$375 per oz. and a cutoff of 0.025 oz. Amax Gold (NYSE), which owns the remaining 62.5%, has released its own estimate, pegging the figure at 6.85 million tons grading 0.10 oz. gold. Expenditures at Haile are expected to be US$4-5 million this year, including further drilling, engineering and environmental studies toward completion of a feasibility study.