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INTERVIEW-San Gold looking at 200,000 ounces output by 2012: CEO

* Looking at gold output of 100,000 ounces next year: CEO

* To hit C$200 mln rev in about 3 years

* Q4 results to be similar to Q3

* Says not interested in being purchased at this time

By Chakradhar Adusumilli

BANGALORE, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Canada's San Gold Corp could boost its gold output from its current projects to as much as 100,000 ounces next year and double that number by 2012, its chief executive said.

The gold producer, which transitioned to a commercial production company this year through the development of its Manitoba projects, expects to hit the C$200 million revenue mark in about 3 years based on current gold prices, CEO Dale Ginn said in an interview to Reuters.

"Next year we are looking at approximately 100,000 ounces of gold to be produced from the Rice Lake mine and the Hinge mine and from development of some of the other zones," Ginn said.

"We are looking to get in a range of about 200,000 ounces a year with in a couple of years after that."

San Gold is also looking to partner on developing projects belonging to smaller miners, Ginn added.

"We are not looking for partners on our own projects. We have been approached by other smaller companies to potentially assist in developing their properties. So we may be interested in expanding out profile in that way," he added.

Shares of the company have soared more than 190 percent so far this year on the back of promising exploration results from the company's land package in Bissett, Manitoba, including the discovery of 4 new high-grade zones there over the past 18 months.

The company already has two high-grade mines at the Bissett project -- the deep underground, Rice Lake mine and the near-surface, ramp accessed Hinge zone nearby.

The Hinge zone, which was discovered in early 2008 and is currently undergoing development production, is expected to have a resource estimate within a few weeks, the CEO said.

"I can't comment on what the estimate number is going to be, but the general analyst (estimates are) between 500,000 ounces and 1 million ounces and I don't see a problem of falling within that range," Ginn said.

PARTNER TALKS

The CEO said San Gold is not interested in being purchased at this time by a larger miner but is looking to partner on smaller companies' exploration projects.

M&A activity in the mining industry has picked up as gold prices hit record highs, with mining majors having set their sights on smaller players that are immediately accretive, rather than looking for new discoveries.

Ginn said San Gold has signed confidentiality agreements with some smaller companies on few projects, but declined to name them.

As to its own operations, Ginn said "we have had companies come and look and we entertain them and we talk to them but we are not interested in being purchased at this time."

"It's not a high priority for us."

San Gold, which controls nearly 15,000 hectares of exploration lands along the Rice Lake Greenstone Belt, is also not looking to tap capital markets for raising cash at this moment, Ginn said.

The CEO expects the company, which currently trades on Toronto Venture Exchange, to graduate to the main Toronto Stock Exchange early next year.

Q4 SIMILAR TO Q3

San Gold, which reported a small operating income for the first time in the third-quarter, expects similar fourth-quarter results. It had posted a net loss of 2 Canadian cents a share on revenue of C$8.8 million in the third-quarter.

"I think we will have a small operating profit again and really when we start to get profitable on the bottom line will be in the beginning of next year," the CEO said.

Analysts on average expect the company to earn 3 Canadian cents a share for the fourth-quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. He expects the company to turn cash flow positive early next year.

"We have no debt, we have no hedges... we have about C$20 million in cash on hand, and are looking to make somewhere in the range of C$50 million next year," Ginn said.

The company expects to expand its resource base and plans to spend between C$10 million and C$20 million in capital expenditure next year for exploration and development of other new zones.

Shares of the company were trading up 2 Canadian cents at C$3.52 on the Toronto Venture Exchange. (Reporting by Chakradhar Adusumilli in Bangalore: Editing by Anthony Kurian)