JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – In keeping with its previously announced strategy of optimising the financial performance of its operations, Aim-listed Shanta Gold has reduced annualised costs by $5.1-million, the company said in a statement on Monday.
The company noted that the full benefit of this reduction would be achieved by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
“The cost reductions are mostly comprised of renegotiated contracts with suppliers, lower headcount and eliminating non-essential spending,” said CEO Eric Zurrin.
Further cost-reduction initiatives remain ongoing, with 45% of Shanta's supplier contracts so far having been reviewed or replaced.
Shanta also announced a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant mineral resource estimate (MRE) on its Tanzania-based Singida gold mining project.
"We have made good progress at Singida by declaring a compliant resource and, in doing so, [have increased Shanta's total group compliant resources to over two-million ounces. We have identified many targets at the project, which we will continue to explore over the coming months, with a view to expand the potential size of the Singida project and increase the measured and indicated resource ounces," said Zurrin.
Singida’s MRE incorporates three mining licences and seven mineralised zones, with a combined strike length of 4.9 km, widths ranging from 5 m to 15 m and mineralisation extending about 500 m below the topographical surface.
Gold Tree 1, which is at the centre of the three mining licences, contains measured and indicated resources of 1.1-million tonnes, grading 3.14 g/t gold and containing 111 000 oz of gold at a cut-off grade of 1.0 g/t, located near to surface.
Mineralisation is open at depth and along strike with numerous parallel structures identified.
Shanta further announced that it would shortly commence with an exploration programme to delineate further resources and upgrade the inferred resources near to surface in the Jem, Gold Tree and Corn Patch deposits into measured and indicated resource categories.