Avion Gold to resume mill expansion, shares up

JOHANNESBURG - West Africa-focussed gold miner Avion Gold Corp said it expects to resume expansion at its Tabakoto mine in Mali and raised its production forecast for the year, sending the company's shares up as much as 12%.metal processing plant
Avion said Mali's political situation has stabilised and it expects mill expansion at Tabakoto to resume by early next year.
The market was concerned if the company could continue to operate in Mali, given the political turmoil there, analyst Barry Allan of Mackie Research Capital said.
aggregate crushing and screening plantAvion, which holds 80% of the Tabakoto and Segala gold projects in Mali said it now expects to produce between 95 000 oz and 102 000 oz of gold for 2012.
In May, Avion had forecast production of 90 000 oz to 100 000 oz of gold, after halting mill expansion plans at Tabakoto due to a military coup in the country.
Shares of Avion Gold, which have fallen 74 percent over the last six months, touched a high of 50 Canadian cents in early trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. They were trading up 10 percent at 49 Canadian cents. ore mining machine