Orvanas Spanish GoldCopper Mine Step Closer To Start Up-CEO

July 22nd, LONDON (Dow Jones)--Orvana Minerals Corp.'s (ORV.T) copper-gold mine in northern Spain is on track to start producing in March next year, chief executive Roland Horst said Thursday.

Orvana Thursday said it had signed a $50 million five-year debt facility with Credit Suisse Group, which it intends to use in finishing construction of theEl Valle-Boinas/Carles mine.

The mine will make Orvana one of Spain's biggest gold producers, Horst said in an interview Dow Jones Newswires.

Orvana plans to mine 105,000 troy ounces of gold and 4,000 metric tons of copper annually for at least seven years, he said. "We expect to have it up and running next March."

Orvana is awaiting a last permit for its tailings pond. Horst said the company expects it will be granted in September or October.

Orvana acquired the EVBC mine in a takeover of Kinbauri Gold Corp. last year. EVBC was mined by Rio Narcea Gold Mines from 1997-2006 but was shut down and sold because of depleting reserves.

Drilling by Kinbauri and Orvana has since expanded the mine's reserves, a trend Horst said should continue and extend the mine's life past seven years.

Cash costs for the underground mine are estimated at $461 and ounce, well below Thursday's gold price of $1,195.95 an ounce at 1537 GMT. "With the gold price now, it's a very viable project," Horst said.