Couldn't see a thread for vgm following the transition from rvd and now producing gold at Vatukoula in Fiji. Looking to ramp up to a rate of 110,000 oz per annum by mid 2009 with current rate of production probably a little over 60,000 oz per annum.

Making good progress towards their targets.

From the Daily Mail yesterday...something very pos+ could be about to happen to the SP ? (dyor)......

Market comment:

Nosy buying amid talk of an imminent development helped Vatukoula Gold Mines edge forward 0.18p to 2.28p.

Effectively put on the investment map by Martin Hughes in January when the shrewd Toscafund boss revealed he had bought a stake and said the shares could rise ten-fold, Vatukoula could be about to update the market on progress at its gold mine in Fiji.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1259026/MARKET-REPORT-BG-shares-gush-BHP-rumour.html

fantastic website one of the best out there well done VGM

http://www.vgmplc.com/operations/

who give a flying f about the artistic merits of a web site?!

morning cynic nice to see your in a better mood today ;-)) i think when the news come out on monday then a lot more people will what to research the company web site

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article7069236.ece

dabbled here once, and managed a small loss ..... out of both POG and RIO as of thursday/friday (but shall buy back eventually), so currently just holding CEY as a gold play .... but shall def buy AGB fist thing monday

cynic AGB LOL who the f##k are they ? what i will say to you is , take a look at GRL........ do your home work its very very under valid in a big way , some good news was out a week ago or so ,...and now there waiting for Joc report ...on a well known gold belt ...let me no what you think cynic i think you be happy with what you find CEY overrated..

GRL is far too small for me .... i only use cfds and they need cap of 10m+

typo - it's ABG is the barrick gold vehicle that is being floated in london on monday morning

the trend is a friend in need cynic and it looks like ABG could need your money more then it need you.... sort tem could do well with your money but i fill that this would be long tem , would love a piece but funds all but tired up. my view think your do well long tem

very happy to take a quick profit in ABG!

5.75p per ordinary share has been set is that correct ? i think your money would do better in GRL but well see one month from today 20/03/10, should realy keep this too VGM post As i feel this will do better then both.

5.75! .... sorry, but not remotely interested in GRL

but from various press stories, looks as though you guys should have a jolly time tomorrow

Yes cynic your right on this occasion.........and here one of them press stories

Gold mine quadruples sales

By Mark Leftly


Sunday, 21 March 2010

Vatukoula, a gold miner that is listed on the Alternative Investment Market, is expected to announce a near doubling of its sales tomorrow.


For the second quarter of its financial year to the end of February, it is likely to announce that it sold more than 15,000 oz of gold. In the previous three months, it sold 8,826 oz.

The increase means that the Vatukoula mine in Fiji will have made net earnings of around 4.6m for the quarter, up from less than 1.3m in its first quarter.

The company is led by its chief executive, David Paxton, a former mining sector analyst. David Lenigas, the executive chairman of the Lonrho African investment empire, is a director.

Ultimately, the company aims to produce at least 100,000 oz a year at its Fijian mine as the result of a major drilling and redevelopment programme.

Vatukoula's shares closed at 2.2p on Friday, down 3.93 per cent on the start of the day's trading. The company is valued at more than 80m.

what would have been good to know would be at what level of production the company becomes profitable - sure as hell isn't at 15,000 oz

if i new that Cynic i would be very happy man .........but David Paxton, CEO of Vatukoula Gold Mines commented - "It is paramount that these results are taken in the context of the Board's overall and continuing strategy to develop the mine as a profitable venture moving forward. In order to achieve that goal the Board has had to focus both its efforts and funds on a significant capital expenditure programme. We have initiated our strategy with a long term regard to the needs of the mine and of the Company. We are determined that this mine can and will produce 100,000 ounces of gold and we believe that the expenditure on significant new machinery and mine development will prove to be a solid long term investment." .................AS YOU NO CYNIC you have to speculate to accumulate

RNS Number : 9111I
Vatukoula Gold Mines PLC
22 March 2010



22 March 2010 AIM: VGM

Vatukoula Gold Mines plc

("VGM" or "the Company")

Operational Update for the Second Quarter ending 28 February 2010

VGM, the AIM-quoted Fijian gold producer, is pleased to announce its operational update from its wholly-owned Vatukoula Gold Mine in Fiji, highlights include:
Mine net earnings of 4.6 million, up from 1.3 million in the previous quarter (unaudited)
Gold recovery of 12,869 ozs, up from previous quarter (12,227 ozs)
Gold sales of 15,267 ozs, up from previous quarter (8,826 ozs)
Average realised gold price of US$1,104 / oz, up compared with previous quarter (US$1,096 / oz)
Cash Costs achieved in the second quarter of US$684 / ozs of gold recovered compared to US$584 / ozs in the first quarter (unaudited). This increase was mainly due to lower grade material being mined.
Completed the first payment to the Social Assistance Deed in March 2010
Gold Production Report Q2 2010



Operations Update: The recently upgraded underground mining fleet has had a significant impact on operations: the tonnes of ore processed has been increased by over 18% compared to the last quarter. In addition, the availability of the underground mining fleet has also enabled us to increase development metres by over 20% compared to the last quarter.

While Q2 showed a 17% increase in our cash cost per ounce of gold recovered compared to the previous quarter, this was due to lower grade material being mined compared to the previous quarter. Additionally, our unit cost per tonne of underground ore mined and processed increased by 4% - the majority of this increase is attributable to higher fuel costs. Our costs, however, remain in line with management expectations and we continue to believe that as we increase our gold production the cash costs should reduce over the longer term to a level between US$550 and US$600 per ounce of gold recovered.

The Gold shipped during the period increased from 8,826 ozs to 15,267 ozs. The increase is attributable to both the increase in gold recovered during the period and the shipping of gold produced in the first quarter of this financial year. This has had a significant impact on mine net earnings which have increased to 4.6 million (unaudited).

On 15 March 2010, a hurricane warning was issued for the northern areas of the islands of Fiji. Areas to the North and East, particularly the island of Vanua Levu bore the brunt of the cyclone. Facilities at Vatukoula suffered no damage following the cyclone.

Underground Operations: Underground production for the quarter increased to 62,606 tonnes at a grade of 6.93 grams per tonne (first quarter 45,105 tonnes at 8.34 grams per tonne). The lower mining grade was as a result of increased ore delivered from on-orebody development and the mining of lower grade areas.

The improvement in underground mining is a result of increased availability and utilisation rates of the underground loading and haulage equipment. Underground mining operations delivered on average 647 tonnes of ore per day, up from the previous quarter of 478 tonnes per day. This is in line with our build-up in production from underground sources. The daily average ore delivery for each of the months of December, January and February was 565, 657 and 727 tonnes per day respectively.

Management continues to focus on mine planning to ensure that both short term planning and long term mine projections can be achieved. Of particular importance to planning is the historic lack of detailed geological information on the sections within the reserve and resource blocks. To rectify this the mine has acquired a further four underground exploration drills, giving us a total of nine, which are being used to provide advance information on the ore bodies for detailed planning.

Dewatering of the lower mine levels has been completed, and pumping is maintaining constant water levels. Pumping at the Philip shaft has exposed the 18 level, which we plan to include in operations at some time in the next financial year. Refurbishment work on access to the 18 level is underway. The engineering design and specifications for the Philip Shaft repair has been detailed and we are in discussions with an engineering group to undertake the necessary work. The repair will be on the lower levels of Philip Shaft and will not affect hoisting in the shaft while the work is being undertaken.

Milling Operations: The Vatukoula Treatment Plant ("VTP") operated satisfactorily during the quarter. The main crusher gyratory needed repairing during the period, which was successfully completed by mine staff with only a temporary suspension of crushing. The VTP milled 102,302 tonnes of sulphide and oxide ore at an average head grade of 4.64 grams of gold / tonne. Gold recoveries were 84.14%, which is consistent with historic gold recoveries at Vatukoula.

Power: A third party power generating company now provides over half of the current power requirements at Vatukoula. The Vatukoula Power Plant provides the balance. The mine has appointed an expatriate engineer to oversee the Power Plant.

Management is seeking alternate means to reduce the power cost. Our discussions in regard to a bio-fuel sourced power generation, in conjunction with the Fiji Sugar Corporation are ongoing.

Fijian Government: In March 2010 the Company made the first payment of F$1,500,000 (US$770,000) to the Social Assistance Trust Fund. This fund will finance the retraining and relocation of previous employees of Vatukoula who have not regained employment.

David Paxton, CEO, said: "We continue to focus on ramping up production and are now clearly seeing the benefits of our investment in new equipment last year. We have a long-term plan in place for the mine and it is pleasing to see its continued development going to plan. We continue to believe that our forecast production target of 60,000 ounces gold production for the financial year ending August 2010 remains on course.

The step increases in gold sales and earnings achieved during the quarter demonstrate the fruits of our labour. As previously stated, the planned continued increase in production is expected to result in a reduction of our cash costs per ounce. Additionally, as we grow our exploration programme, the Company's prospects are expected to become even more compelling. As such, we look forward to updating the market with further developments in the coming months."
Qualified Person Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance) from CASS Business School. Kiran is the Finance Director of VGM.


Edit. I have removed the breakdown of production figures as they became spread out and unreadable in my original post!

Thanks kimoldfield lots of good news too take from that I.E .........

We continue to believe that our forecast production target of 60,000 ounces gold production for the financial year ending August 2010 remains on course.

nice too see management producing what they preach.

even to my surprise, the market is underwhelmed

market are always underwhelmed cynic , special in these troubled times nothing surprise me in the London stock exchange any more just have too be a little Patience they no the game well... they write the rules ;-)) we just have too bend them

I think the market was already aware of the contents on Friday. I thought that the Results RNS on 26 Feb held a note of caution from Dave Paxton:-

David Paxton, CEO of Vatukoula Gold Mines commented - "It is paramount that these results are taken in the context of the Board's overall and continuing strategy to develop the mine as a profitable venture moving forward. In order to achieve that goal the Board has had to focus both its efforts and funds on a significant capital expenditure programme. We have initiated our strategy with a long term regard to the needs of the mine and of the Company. We continue to believe that this mine can produce 100,000 ounces of gold per year and we believe that the expenditure on significant new machinery and mine development will prove to be a solid long term investment.

No need for too much caution as far as I can see and, barring a calamity, the goal of 100,000 oz per annum should be achieved sooner rather than later. Having said that, I haven't visited the mine so cannot see any likely spanners in the works! :0)