Continental Gold Operations Unaffected by Accident Involving Artisanal Miners at Buriticá
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Apr 27, 2014) - Continental Gold Limited (TSX:CNL) (OTCQX:CGOOF) ("Continental" or the "Company") announces that a tragic accident in a small scale underground mine operated by artisanal miners occurred at approximately 6:00 p.m. (local time) on Friday, April 25, 2014, resulting in the death of four artisanal miners who are unrelated to Continental and its operations. This artisanal mine is located within one of the Company's concession licenses covering 58,733 hectares located north of the Veta Sur vein system. The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Colombian Government authorities.
Continental's security and rescue brigades were on hand shortly after the accident and provided support to local authorities.
In order to clarify some confusion from reports by the media, Continental wishes to confirm that the event did not impact Continental's personnel or infrastructure. Additionally, all underground development, diamond drilling and operations at the Yaraguá mine are continuing to operate normally without interruption.
"Although the vast majority of artisanal mines at Buriticá have been closed down by the Colombian Government over the past few months, the process has not yet concluded. It is unfortunate that this accident took place at one of only two main artisanal mines still operating at Buriticá. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and the Company pledges continued support to the families, government and local authorities," commented Ari Sussman, CEO. "This tragedy serves to reinforce our plans to execute sub-contracts of formalization with certain small-scale miners at Buriticá (see March 11, 2014 news release), providing them with technical and management assistance for the implementation of safety standards and procedures, and we shall redouble our efforts in this regard."
About Continental Gold
Continental Gold Ltd. is an advanced-stage exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of 100%-owned gold projects in Colombia. Spearheaded by a team with over 40 years of exploration and mining experience in Colombia, the Company is focused on advancing its high-grade Buriticá gold project to production.
For additional technical information on the Buriticá project, please refer to the technical report entitled "2012 Mineral Resource Estimate of the Buriticá Gold Project, Colombia" dated November 15, 2012, effective as at October 22, 2012, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on the OTCQX at www.otcmarkets.com and on the Company website at www.continentalgold.com. Additional details on the rest of Continental's suite of gold exploration properties are also available at www.continentalgold.com.