Hambledon Mining has made excellent progress towards completion of the processing facilities at its Sekisovskoye project in Kazakhstan and is now on the brink of joining the ranks of gold producing companies, according to Hambledon chief executive Nicholas Bridgen.

Hambledon Mining is a gold mining and exploration company which is developing the Sekisovskoye gold deposit and owns the Ognevka processing plant, both of which are close to Ust Kamenogorsk in East Kazakhstan.

The company's latest results indicate that the processing facility is nearing completion, that initial annual planned production will be 40,000 ounces and that gold content is 18% higher than predicted from geological model.

The total inferred and indicated resource is 2.5 million ounces of gold and 3.6 million ounces of silver with exploration activity continuing.

Hambledon bought the Ognevka processing plant earlier this year and it is being refurbished. The plant will produce concentrates containing gold, silver, copper, iron and coke from the retreatment of zinc smelter residues. It is expected to come on line later in the year.

Nicholas Bridgen says: "It is gratifying that, in spite of the well publicised levels of inflation affecting the world's mining industry, the capital costs are expected to be within the budget.

"Evidence from grade control sampling shows that the contained gold being encountered is some 18% higher than that predicted from the geological model and this obviously impacts on our projected profitability.

"The acquisition of the Ognevka processing plant gives the company diversity of operations and a more robust financial future. Several options for the further development of Ognevka are being studied and we believe that it has the potential to become a highly significant contributor to group profits."

At Sekisovskoye, Hambledon is mining from an open pit and constructing an 850,000 tonnes/year treatment plant. After the start of open pit processing, the company plans to develop the larger underground resource which is expected to lead to a combined production rate of around 100,000 ounces per year.