FALCON Gold Zimbabwe Limited has been voted the "Best Performing Mining Company" on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 2011. The screening criteria for the award were both quantitative and qualitative based on an 80:20 ratio, and included share price performance as the largest component (25 percent), followed by return on equity (20 percent), return on assets (20 percent), risk-weighted return (20 percent), and earnings yield (15 percent).

The three subjective (qualitative) factors included in the awards selection process were corporate governance, investor relations and management quality.

Falgold executive chairman Mr Ian Saunders said the award was a testimony of the contribution of the company's workforce.

"It is an honour for Falcon Gold to win such an award, as well as a tribute to the hard work of our employees over the past two years," he said.

The gold producer is 85 percent owned by Toronto Stock Exchange-listed New Dawn Mining Corporation.

Falgold's operations have improved significantly during the post-dollarisation period.

"When New Dawn acquired control of Falgold in June 2010, it implemented a strategic recovery programme to stabilise and re-organise the Falgold mines and resume operations at the mine sites by utilising New Dawn's technical mining capabilities, operational procedures and management expertise.

"The Falgold recovery was funded by an investment of US$5,7 million by New Dawn under inter-company loan arrangements.

"As a result, Falgold now has been able to generate substantial community-based job growth over the past two years, while also delivering steadily increasing gold production, strong growth in revenues and profits, and exemplary gains to the Falgold minority shareholders," said the company in a statement.

The Zimbabwe Independent in partnership with BancABC presented the award.

Falgold's subsidiary mines include the Dalny Mine, the Golden Quarry Mine and Venice Mine (currently not in operation).

New Dawn also owns in whole the Turk and Angelus Mine, the Old Nic Mine and the Camperdown Mine.