A new shaft is being sunk at Aim-listed GoldStone Resources’ Akrokeri-Homase gold project (AKHM), in Ghana, to a target depth of 30 m.

The Norton shaft will allow access to the historic high-grade Akrokeri underground gold mine, one of two previously producing operations at AKHM, to enable the company to complete a geological assessment of the mine.

As at July 6, the Norton shaft had been sunk to 20 m below surface, with 19 m fully timbered and partitioned.

Owing to the ongoing deepening of the Norton shaft, an electric driven winch is being installed to assist with the extraction of the materials.

Further, work at the historic North shaft at Akrokeri is currently under way to ascertain if this shaft can be re-opened for use by Goldstone. 

Depending on the state of the shaft, it may be used as a second point of egress, for ventilation purposes and also to gain access to the old underground mine workings.

“With Ghana’s Parliament recently ratifying the regulatory and fiscal agreements for the redevelopment of our neighbour, the Obuasi gold mine, and the issuing of their environmental permit, the attitude in Ghana towards mining is increasingly positive, reinforcing the backdrop to our strategy of rapidly advancing the project and achieving production within two years,” GoldStone CEO Emma Priestley said on Tuesday.

In terms of the environmental base line study, GoldStone has started the terrestrial baseline work for the environmental- and social-impact assessment (Esia), which will support further development at AKHM, which is ahead of intended production within two years.

The collection of the required data is to ensure the most expedient and thorough approach to completing AKHM’s environmental impact statement (EIS) in respect of permitting.

The collection stations have been mobilised and a full-time Esia assistant has been employed, the company noted. 

The EIS is one of the requirements for the application of the mining licences.

Once the baseline data is collected, GoldStone will engage in additional dialogue with the local communities to optimise AKHM’s benefits and minimise the impacts associated with AKHM’s construction and subsequent operations.