CROCODILE GOLD OBTAINS APPROVAL TO PROCEED AT ITS INTERNATIONAL MINE

Transcription

1 65 Queen Street West Suite 825, P.O. Box 75 Toronto, Ontario M5H 2M5 Canada CROCODILE GOLD OBTAINS APPROVAL TO PROCEED AT ITS INTERNATIONAL MINE EXPECTED TO CONTRIBUTE ORE BEGINNING IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2013 October 10, 2012, Toronto, Ontario Crocodile Gold Corp. (TSX:CRK) (OTCQX:CROCF) (Frankfurt:XGC) ( Crocodile Gold or the Company ) is pleased to announce that on September 25 th 2012, the Northern Territory Department of Mines and Energy (DME) granted in-principle approval for the International Mine pit redevelopment and proposed preparatory work within Crocodile Gold s property in the Northern Territory of Australia (see Figure 1). This approval follows a confirmation received by the Company on August 7 th, 2012 from the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities that the proposed redevelopment does not require further assessment and approval under EPBC Act before it can proceed. Importantly, the approval allows the Company to proceed immediately with geotechnical, metallurgical and hydro-geological drilling required to optimize and finalize pit slope design, mine sequencing, and to begin installation of the monitoring wells that are required prior to the start of mining activities. The current conceptualized open pit structure for the International mine is shown in Figure 2. In parallel to this activity, and as required by the in-principle approval from DME, the Company is amending its Mine Management Plan, submitted earlier this year, to reflect the most recent recommendations of the regulators. The amended documents will be submitted later this month. Peter Crooks, Crocodile Gold s General Manager of Northern Territory Operations, commented: I am very pleased that we have achieved this significant milestone for the project which is a reflection of the commitment of our team and the Northern Territory key stakeholders to working together. Over the course of the next 3 months, the Company plans to: Update and resubmit its Mine Management Plan to the Department of Mines and Energy Complete the detailed mine design, Seek competitive bids and secure contractual services for the execution of the mining activities, Update its financial model, Finalize its 2013 operational budget and seek approval by the Board of Directors. Crocodile Gold anticipates that the ore contribution of the International Mine, which is located only 20 km from the processing facility (shown in Figure 1), will start in the second quarter of Present estimates show the International open pit contributing 50,000 to 60,000 ounces of gold over the next two (2) years. Chantal Lavoie, President & CEO of Crocodile Gold, stated: "The development of the International Mine has been a clear focus area as part of our short term operational strategy, concentrating on better quality ore sources, close to our Union Reefs processing facility. As a supplement to our Cosmo Mine ore production, ore produced from International Mine will allow us to significantly reduce our processing costs, taking full advantage of our 2.4 Million tonnes per annum treatment capacity. About Crocodile Gold Crocodile Gold is a Canadian company with operating gold mines in the Northern Territory of Australia and in the State of Victoria with a land package of over 4,000 square kilometres. Crocodile Gold is currently mining at the Fosterville and Stawell mines in the State of Victoria. In the Northern Territory, the Company continues to develop its Cosmo underground mine and is permitting the International open pit mine. The Northern Territory ore production is processed at the Union Reefs Mill with a capacity of 2.42 million tonnes per year. TSX:CRK OTCQX:CROCF FRANKFURT: XGC

2 At its Northern Territory properties, Crocodile Gold has million ounces of NI compliant Measured and Indicated mineral resources and 2.14 million ounces of Inferred mineral resources (see the NI compliant technical report entitled Report on the Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves of the northern Territory Gold and Base Metals Properties for Crocodile Gold Corp. by Fleur Muller, Mark Edwards and Heath Gerritsen dated April 4, 2011, filed under the Company s profile on SEDAR for the details regarding these mineral resource estimates). At its Stawell Mine, the Company has million ounces of NI complaint Indicated resources and million ounces of Inferred mineral resources (see the NI compliant technical report entitled NI Technical Report, Stawell Gold Mine, Victoria, Australia prepared for Crocodile Gold Corp by James P Llorca of Mining Plus, and Neil Schunk of CP Mining. At its Fosterville Mine Crocodile Gold has million ounces of NI compliant Measured and Indicated resources and million ounces of Inferred mineral resources (see the NI compliant technical report entitled NI Technical Report Fosterville Gold Mine, Victoria, Australia prepared for Crocodile Gold Corp. by James P. Llorca of Mining Plus and Neil Schunke of CP Mining dated April 9, 2012, filed under the Company s profile on SEDAR for the details regarding these mineral resource estimates). Crocodile Gold has an extensive exploration program in place in the Northern Territory and is exploring on several key properties on its expansive land package. Crocodile Gold's main focus is on the Cosmo Mine, and the Union Reefs and Maud Creek project areas. In the State of Victoria, the Company has exploration programs in place designed to expand the resource base of each mine property. For additional information, please visit our website Follow us on Twitter (@crocgold_crk) or Facebook ( Qualified Person F. W. Nielsen P.Geo, V.P. Exploration of Crocodile Gold Corp is a qualified person as such term is defined in National Instrument and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release. For further information, please contact: Rob Hopkins Manager, Investor Relations Crocodile Gold Corp. Tel: info@crocgold.com Cautionary Note Certain information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements and forwardlooking information under applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements which include management s production projections and cash costs, of Crocodile Gold s future plans, operations and mineral resource estimates and are based on Crocodile Gold s current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as expects anticipates, believes, projects, plans, and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Crocodile Gold s actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: liabilities inherent in mine development and production; geological, mining and processing technical problems; Crocodile Gold s inability to obtain required mine licenses, mine permits and regulatory approvals required in connection with mining and mineral processing operations; competition for, among other

3 things, capital, acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped lands and skilled personnel; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; changes in commodity prices and exchange rates; currency and interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt operations and/or the transportation of mineral products, including labour stoppages and severe weather conditions; the demand for and availability of rail, port and other transportation services; the ability to secure adequate financing and management s ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Crocodile Gold undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management s estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

4 Figure 1: Northern Territory Location Map

5 Figure 2: Conceptualized Model of the International Pit Mine