Oct 9 2002
Bema Gold Corp and EAGC Ventures Corp, the owners of Chimera Mines and Minerals have entered into a business combination agreement. EAGC are in the process of acquiring Petrex, who own gold mining operations in East Rand, South Africa.
The Petrex owned mines contain approximately 1.6 million ounces of proven gold reserves and a further 3.3 million ounces of probable reserves. Current operating cash costs are $185 per ounce based on production rates of 185,000 ounces per annum, but could drop as low as $164 per ounce if Chimera have their way and increase production to 240,000 ounces per year.
By combining their efforts with EAGC, Bema will have a production capacity of approximately 315,000 ounces of gold per year, at a cost of $135 per ounce, making them a low cost intermediate gold producer.
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