Name of the Project
Asanko gold mine (AGM) expansion project.

Location
Ghana.

Client
Asanko Gold.

Project Description
An expansion definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the project has confirmed the project to be a large-scale, long-life and high-quality asset, with a viable and robust two-stage organic growth plan and strong cash-generation capability.

The DFS comprises two growth projects – Project 5 Million and Project 10 Million.

Project 5 Million comprises two modules, the upgrade of the existing carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing plant from a design of three-million tonnes a year to five-million tonnes a year, and the development of the large Esaase pit, which includes the construction of a 27-km-long overland conveyor from Esaase to the processing facility. The Esaase deposit will be mined using the conventional truck-and-shovel surface mining method.

Production will average 230 000 oz/y over a 20-year life-of-mine at an all-in sustaining cost of $968/oz.

Project 10 Million comprises the construction of an additional milling, gravity, CIL circuit to treat an additional five-million tonnes of ore a year from the Esaase pit, which will increase the processing facility’s total capacity to ten-million tonnes a year. The second processing facility will be built alongside the existing plant and will leverage the infrastructure and overheads already in place at the AGM. The new processing circuit will consist of two 5.6 MW motors driving a run-of-mine ball mill, milling to P80 of 106 μm. Gravity recovery will be maximised through processing the full cyclone underflow through four Knelson concentrators. The recovered gravity concentrate will be treated in an intensive leach reactor, which will have the same design as Phase 1.

A new preleach thickener and CIL circuit, with a dedicated elution and carbon regeneration circuit, will be installed, which will be identical to the existing plant. In general, the current reagent facilities are adequate to make up reagents for the second CIL plant and additional reagent dosing pumps will be provided to supply reagents, as required, to the appropriate plant. An additional ten-tonne-a-day oxygen plant will also be installed.

The gold room will be expanded to include two additional electrowinning cells, a drying oven and a larger gold furnace to accommodate the increase in gold production.

The AGM mineral resources comprise two main pits, Nkran and Esaase, and nine satellite deposits – Akwasiso, Dynamite Hill, Adubiaso, Abore, Asuadai, Nkran Extension, Adubiaso Extension, Esaase B zone and Esaase D zone.

Jobs to Be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Project 5 Million has an after-tax net present value (NPV), at a 5% discount rate, of $658-million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 13%.

Project 10 Million has an after-tax NPV, at a 5% discount rate, of $811-million and an IRR of 20%.

Value
Based on front-end engineering design, total project capital for Project 5 Million has been estimated at $150-million, including $22-million for the plant upgrade, $78-million for the conveyor and $32-million for the development of the Esaase deposit and associated infrastructure.

The project is expected to be funded from cash reserves and cash flow from operations. The board will consider the optimal timing of the development of Esaase and the conveyor, based on the company’s balance sheet and cash position, and market conditions.

The combined capital cost estimate for Project 10 Million is $350-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The Asanko mine performed ahead of the optimised life-of-mine (LoM) plan during the first quarter ended March 31.

The mine is also ahead of schedule on the key metrics of gold production, grade and mill throughput.

The enlarged Nkran pushback is progressing ahead of schedule and the mill delivered another record milling throughput performance of 1.27-million tonnes, processing a monthly record of 432 410 t in March, which is, on an annualised basis, above the recently upgraded design of five-million tonnes a year.

These results, he said, demonstrates the processing plant’s ability to sustain throughput at the newly upgraded levels.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
ELB South Africa (engineering, procurement and construction – overland conveyor).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Asanko Gold, tel +1 604 683 8193, fax +1 604 683 8194 or email info@asanko.com.