Triumph

The South Kalgoorlie Operation (SKO) , which included the Triumph Open Pit, was acquired by Canadian miner, Alacer Gold Corporation when it merged with Avoca Resources in early 2011. Avoca had earlier acquired SKO from Dioro Exploration in 2010 who had purchased the operation from Harmony Gold in 2007.

Gold Deposits are Centred Around the Jubilee Gold Processing Plant

The South Kalgoorlie Operation consists of a grouping of gold deposits centred around the Jubilee Gold Processing Plant located 15 kilometres from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, a part of the mineral rich Eastern Goldfields. The closure of the Triumph open pit has left the nearby Pernatty open pit the main gold producer for the SKO, as in early 2013 Alacer finalised the sale of the Frog's Leg Mine, albeit with an agreement to toll treat the Frog's Leg mine's ore until around mid 2014. Both the Triumph and Pernatty open pits were mined by means of conventional excavator and haulage truck methods.

Jubilee Plant Produced 40,406 Ounces of Gold in 2012

The gold bearing ore from both the South Kalgoorlie Operation and the Frog's Leg Mine is processed at the Alacer Jubilee Processing Plant where it is crushed, ground and leached in a gravity CIP circuit at the rate of 1.2 million tonnes a year. The plant produced 40,406 ounces of gold in 2012.

Production of 25,942 Ounces of Gold for the Quarter When the Triumph Open pit Closed

There is proven and probable gold reserves of 13.9 million tonne of gold bearing ore at the South Kalgoorlie Operation, grading at 1.5 grams a tonne which will return the company 0.64 million ounces of gold. As at December 2012 the measured and indicated resource stood at 50 million tonne grading at 2.1 grams a tonne, which would produce 3.3 million ounces. At the time of the closure of the Triumph open pit the SKO had produced 25,942 ounces for the quarter, as planned.

2013 Focus Will be on the Pernatty Open Pit

SKO gold production for 2013 will be focused on the Pernatty open pit that contains a high ounce margin, although several other high grade deposits will be coming into production throughout the year. These new open pits will include; Tuscany, Pit 28, Shirl, Barbara and Surprise. The new pits along with the toll treatment agreement Alacer have arranged with the Frog's Leg Mine new owner, La Mancha, will be sufficient to ensure the Jubilee processing plant will be able to operate efficiently throughout the year.

Cost Cutting Methods Being Adopted by Alacer Gold Corporation

In order to cut costs to better reflect the volatility of the gold price coming into 2013, Alacer Gold Corporation have also decided to take the following action:
Adopt a high-value high-grade mining strategy going forward
Reduction of the mining fleet and personnel involved to just one
fleet
Alacer has stated it believes the South Kalgoorlie Operation remains one of the premier gold exploration and discovery areas in Australia as it lies between the world class gold deposits of the St Ives District and the famous Kalgoorlie Golden Mile.