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UPDATE 1-Kinross Gold's reserves rise 12 pct in 2009

Fri Jan 29, 2010 4:10am IST
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* Total reserves at 51 million ounces

* Completes Lobo-Marte study, declares reserve (In U.S. dollars unless noted)

TORONTO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Kinross Gold (K.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday its proven and probable gold reserves totaled 51 million ounces at the end of 2009, a 12 percent increase over the previous year, thanks largely to contributions from its Lobo-Marte project in Chile.

Kinross, Canada's No. 3 gold producer, acquired Lobo-Marte from Teck Resources (TCKb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) last year, and said on Thursday it has completed a pre-feasibility study on the project, which shows a reserve of 5.6 million ounces.

Kinross also increased its share of reserves at the Cerro Casale project -- a 50/50 joint venture with Barrick Gold (ABX.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) -- by 1.2 million ounces.

The reserve -- a measure of a mineral deposit that can be economically extracted -- was based on a gold price of $800 per ounce, Kinross said. Current spot prices are around $1,090.

Gold depletion during the year was 2.7 million ounces, which exceeds the Toronto-based company's production of just over 2.2 million ounces. Kinross noted that not all contained gold is recovered during production.

Kinross said last week it had agreed to acquire two gold deposits in eastern Russia for $368 million in cash and shares from sellers connected to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

($1=$1.07 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Rob Wilson)

© Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved

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