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.

Cool ! thanks Kimo.....I'm already 60%+ up so v happy with my investment.....onwards and upwards...

something i picked up on

Minesite today

January 11, 2010
Vatukoula Gold Is Well On The Way To Achieving Production Of 100,000 Ounces Of Gold In 2011
By Charles Wyatt
Colin Orr-Ewing has kicked off 2010 in ebullient form. I have never before, in many years in this game, had a company that is making money, has no borrowing or hedging and has money in the bank. The paragon is Vatukoula Gold, which runs the Vatukoula mine in Fiji and proved to be a problem for several of Colins predecessors. To be precise the company has 8.5 million in the bank in England, and another 1.5 million in a Fijian bank. Warmer and a lot safer than the Iceland banks turned out to be, he comments. In fact Fiji is a good country in which to operate for more reasons than just the weather. It sits on the Pacific ring of fire, English is spoken, rugby foot ball is played and there are strong links with the British army the SAS in particular. Cynics can pooh-pooh these reasons but they make it that much easier to communicate with the authorities - Vatukoula has the support of the government, a three year tax concession on import duties, no VAT on fuel and simply pays a three per cent royalty on gold sales.
Just before Christmas the company issued an operating update for the quarter to end November. This showed that it had recovered 12,227 ounces of gold compared with 7,444 ounces in the previous quarter, a continuation of a rising trend seen since the Vatakoula team brought the mine back into production towards the end of 2008. The advance, however, is significant as the company has now achieved a figure of 5,000 ounces per month. That brings up a target total of 60,000 ounces for this year and makes the 100,000 ounces that the company is shooting for in 2011 seem realistic.
Quite a lot of people would have bet against this achievement, but Dave Paxton, an ex-Gold Fields man and investment analyst who joined the company last year as chief executive has focussed doggedly on the problem areas and this is paying off. For instance, the generators were in a dicey condition so they have been refurbished or replaced, and an outside power generating company is now ensuring a reliable source of power. Early on, an oxide circuit was installed to treat a stockpile of lower grade oxide ore and thus supplement underground production. The underground mining vehicles are also being replaced, and there are four yet to be delivered.

The mine is now producing at an average of at least 500 tonnes per day, as a result of the replaced underground fleet, and there is no doubt that this can be improved on still further, as additional underground earthmoving equipment keeps pace with mining. It is only comparatively recently that a consistent mine plan has come into existence as underground drilling has increased understanding of the near term production stopes. As this proceeds the company should be able to iron out variations in grade and also allow production scheduling to be managed better. Better planning will result in the provision of additional working faces and this, in turn, will boost productivity. Five underground drills are operating at the moment and a similar number are on order to accelerate this process.
Pumping was another problem area which has now been sorted. Previously there were only four pumps and they were working flat out, particularly during some of last year when there was higher than average rainfall. If one pump failed there was a real problem, so there are now two pumps at the major pumping stations underground and another two on surface as stand-by. As a result dewatering is taking place with greater efficiency and the 18 level has now been exposed. It will need some refurbishment, as will the Philip shaft which provides access between the 15 and 18 levels. But as every week goes by the management at the mine gains more experience, and so, when the Fluidised Bed Roaster packed up, it was shut down and overhauled very quickly.
Vatukoula has a current resource of 4.3 million ounces of gold which, as Colin Orr-Ewing admits, will be more than enough to see him out. Even so, exploration is in progress, not only to identify additional resources in the vicinity of the mine but also further afield. In the meantime the 2011 target of 100,000 ounces is drawing in some very shrewd investors. To well-known names on the register are Sprott Asset management and Canadian Zinc Corporation. The overhang from Wally Berukoffs unwelcome intervention is no more, so a listing in Canada might also be on the cards. Colin will not be drawn too far on this, but it appears that Dave Paxton may be going on a roadshow to Toronto before long so there could be something in it.

Beat me to it Micky!

SP heading to where it should be at last. I've held VGM for a while now and have always felt that, with the right management, it could become a force in the gold mining industry again. I think we are just about there. Most of the major problems appear to have been sorted and with a little fine honing, hopefully, production will be uninterrupted and increasing. I would not be surprised to see the SP at 10p or more within the next 6 months. Or sooner.

Another day like today would be very welcome!!

Thanks micky, good report, skyhigh, nice to be 60 % up, I have bought more so not so much in profit as I was. Looking forward to Kim's 10p+

or even 1p perhaps! .... sorry; just feeling more caustic than usual

no no onwards and upwards...you'll miss out..

on it's way to 2p +

A 2p trade has gone through. Perhaps the ascent is a little too rapid, though there's nowt wrong with that if you are a day trader!

lets not forget

The Company's focus is the Vatukoula Gold Mine in Fiji.

Vatukoula (Fiji)


An underground gold mine located in the Tavua Basin, which is within the Tavua volcano in the northern part of the Fijian island of Viti Levu
VGM owns both the mining rights and associated assets of the mine.
Reserves of 858,000 ounces of gold and a resource of almost 5 million ounces gold
There are currently 3 operating shafts and a decline, plus over 450km of underground drives
Vatukoula has an operational history of over 70 years and has excellent infrastructure. Historic production of 7.1 million ounces at 11g/t

Panguma (Sierra Leone)

5,400 hectares containing 2 confirmed kimberlite dykes + a 3rd identified target
Inferred strike length of 4km
Adjacent to Tongo Dyke Field, where US$ 2.75 billion diamonds have been extracted and dyke grades vary from 87cpht to 268cpht
Awaiting renewal of exploration license from the Ministry of Mineral Resources of Sierra Leone

Rio Novo (Brazil)

Located in the Tapajos gold province, central Brazil
The area comprises 4 claims over an area of 30,000 hectares
The area is proximate to the Palito Gold Mine a producing gold mine.

Kao Diamond Project (Lesotho)

The Company owns a 0.46% stake in Global Diamond Resources Plc, the holding company of the 147 million tonne, 10.19 million carat Kao Diamond Project in Lesotho, Southern Africa.

RNS gold resource estimate reduced.

It sounds as if the're being prudent/conservative so as not to build up to higher expectations ?

SP holding up well..

I guess when we start seeing real output/revenues increasing we'll see good RNSs and SP higher (imho)

Isn't is refreshing to see an AIM listed company being "conservative"?! RNS confirms the quality of the mine.

back in blue kim.. some big buys going in now .i would like to see this at 2.04p end of today.

I'd like to see it at 2.04! :o)

confirms what we no kim but a nice read picked up on BB

This is what Arbuthnot are saying to their institutional clients

Resource and reserve update
Vatukoula Gold Mines (VGM) have released its first independently calculated JORC resource and reserve estimate since re-admission which continues to demonstrate the company is in possession of a world class, high grade gold deposit. The updated estimate confirms the multi-million ounce magnitude of the resource, stating measured, indicated and inferred resources of 4.3Moz at 7.3g/t. This estimate includes reserves of 0.68Moz at 10.9 grams per tonne at a very conservative gold price of 750/oz, assuming operating costs that we estimate are equivalent to the current cash costs of c.$650/oz. The reserves therefore support at least a 5+ year mine life with good potential for further extensions provided the vast resource base continues to be converted into reserves.

Scale underappreciated by the market
While these updated estimates are a reduction to the 2006 estimates included in the re-admission document (reflecting the removal of less accurate face sampling data, cutting out high grade intersects and mine depletion), the difference is not really significant as neither estimate are reflected in the company's current share price. The company's reserves and resources currently trade at a large discount to the company's peers. On an EV/Resource basis, VGM trades at c.$23/oz - a 75% discount to peers and only marginally above the discovery cost of many companies. At the current valuation, the company's resources therefore would make an attractive acquisition for any company looking to add resources at near the cost of exploration without much of the exploration risk. On an EV/reserve basis, the company trades at $144/oz, a near 50% discount to its peers. We expect this discount should be eliminated as the company achieves its fully funded production ramp up of 60koz in 2010 and 100koz in 2011 as investors' confidence in the company's ability to produce profitable ounces improves.

Execution is the key
With this update confirming the size and quality of the high grade resource, we expect that company will continue to perform well provided production targets are achieved. This will unlock the mine's profitability and potentially even bring the company into the crosshairs of larger producers struggling to find or replace ounces.

Yes, nice one micky.

over 16 buys today over the 1,000,000.m mark in 4 hr not bad ;-))

so close to 2p....just one more push should do it...lol

Heave!

I'm glad it was you who replied kim and not cynic....lol