Steppe Gold Limited (TSX: STGO) is extremely pleased to announce the commencement of ore processing at its 100%-owned ATO Gold Mine in Mongolia.

The Company has now mined, crushed and stacked approximately 533,000t of gold ore at a grade of 2.0g/t gold on Cell1 of the leach pad where leaching has commenced. At an expected gold recovery rate of 70%, Steppe already has 24,000 ounces of leachable gold on Cell1. This equates to approximately US$38M of recoverable gold at a gold price of $1,600 per ounce.

The Company remains on track to produce approximately 60,000 ounces of gold in 2020 at cash costs of circa $500 per ounce from its heap leap operations. Positive cash flows from the ATO Mine will go towards studies to expand the open pit and processing facilities for the Company to increase gold production to a targeted 150,000 ounces of gold per annum.

With commercial gold production at the ATO Gold Mine, the Company plans to continue its exploration programs on the Mungu Discovery and at the ATO deposits where all deposits remain open at depth. It is expected that the Company should able to release a revised resource and reserve statement in Q3 2020.

CEO and President, Mr Bataa Tumur-Ochir said, “The Company is very pleased with the strong support it has received from Mongolian financial institutions, stakeholders and shareholders to achieve a significant step in transforming the Company from exploration and development to a mining and production company. The gold production at the ATO Gold Mine is vital to Mongolia in these challenging and uncertain times. The Company continues to provide jobs and sustainable economic development in the local region and Mongolia.”