Crusher upgrade moving along nicely

We are currently mining and stockpiling ore on the surface (ready to be processed).

Our new mechanical mining equipment will begin to arrive mid March and continue into April (which will give greater mining scale).

We only need the crusher upgrade to be completed (and final testing of the milling facility to occur) before we can reach the final (key) stage of pouring gold at Lamaque.

Progress thus far in upgrading (rightsizing) the crushing operation appears to be excellent.

On Feb. 2nd, we were told that the upgrade would take another 8 - 10 weeks. If all goes well, it means that the milling facility will be ready by mid April (perhaps slightly earlier):

``the Company has started the upgrade work on the crushing circuit in the mill facility to adjust the capacity to approximately 3,000 tpd, and expects to complete this project in the next 8-10 weeks.``

On Mar. 1st, we were told that the new crushers are expected to be in transit to the site by the first week of March (this week). It`s not clear how long it will take to arrive. It`s also not clear how long it will take to install and test. However, the company is saying that the upgrade is on schedule. This means (if all continues to go well) we are still looking good for gaining milling capabilities at Lamaque by mid April.

Some really nice progress so far with this upgrade (From Mar. 1st NR):

``Company continues to complete the modifications on the crusher system at the Lamaque mill facility. Work completed to date at the mill facility includes the inspection (and repair where necessary) of all grinding mill bearings, inspection of all pumps and motors, review of the water circuit, activation of the fire system, continued cleaning and refurbishing of other mill equipment where necessary, and the full review of the PLC (programmable logic control) computer mill operating system. The current jaw crusher is being dismantled and removed, and the new crushers have been ordered and will be in transit to the site by the first week of March. Final engineering is near completion for the installation of the new jaw and new cone crushers, and the mill refurbishment is on schedule.``

Without any (large) surprise delays, we seem to still be looking very good for first gold pour to occur in the second half of April (first half of April if everything goes extremely smooth).