TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based Aurizon Mines still plans to complete a feasibility study on its Joanna project in Quebec, by the end of this year, which could set it up to pour the first gold at the mine around mid-2012, CEO David Hall said on Sunday.

Aurizon owns and operates the Casa Berardi mine, also in Quebec, and expects to produce between 145 000 oz and 155 000 oz this year.

Hall said that construction at Joanna could begin around this time next year and would take 18 months to complete.

Once in production, the mine has the potential to boost the firm's output by some 60%, to around 260 000 oz/y.

Meanwhile, Aurizon is also still evaluating acquisition opportunities, to boost its reserves and resources and grow production.

The company will look at assets in Canada, the US and Mexico, and would like to find something with the potential to add at least 100 000 oz/y over a mine life of at least ten years, Hall said in an interview at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto.

At Casa Berardi, Aurizon also has an extensive drilling programme under way, aimed at upgrading the existing resources.

GOLD PRICE

Hall said that he expects to see ongoing volatility in the gold price in the short term.

“I wouldn't be surprised if gold bounced up and down between $1 250/oz on the upside and potentially $950/oz on the downside over the next six to nine months,” he said.

“But long term, I am very positive on the gold price, because I don't think the financial problems plaguing the western world have gone away or have been solved."

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