Name and Location
Manica gold project, Mozambique.

Client
Auroch Minerals.

Project Description
The Manica project, which is north of the town of Manica, has a total resource of 48.96-million tons, grading 1.79 g/t of gold.

The proposed project will include two openpits, a shallow underground mine area to be accessed through adits and a 60 000 t/m processing plant, with supporting infrastructure and residue facilities.

The project is targeting the nonrefractory, relatively shallow ore.

Life-of-mine is currently expected to be less than ten years.

Value
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $31.62-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Auroch Minerals has submitted the environmental-impact assessment (EIA) report on its Manica gold project for assessment by the Mozambique Ministry of Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA).

The submission of the EIA to the MICOA is a major milestone in the development of the Manica gold project, “the significance of which cannot be understated in terms of moving forward with the Stage 1 definitive feasibility study (DFS)”, states the company.

The EIA clearly indicates no fatal flaws in terms of potential environmental- and social-impact issues of its proposed mining activities at the Manica gold project.

The EIA – conducted by Mozambique environmental consultancy EnviroSig, registered with MICOA, and South Africa-based environmental consultancy SLR Consulting Africa – has enabled Auroch Minerals to comply with the terms of the 25-year mining concession, which was granted in March 2011, and to continue the ongoing development and exploitation of its gold resources.

As part of the EIA process, the company has also completed significant work integral to the Manica gold project’s Stage 1 DFS, which includes:
• in-fill drilling and metallurgical assay results at Dot’s Luck and Guy Fawkes, together with the historical database, which have provided the data and material for the additional metallurgical test work;
• metallurgical testwork to confirm earlier preliminary recovery factors, which are required to established the chemical composition of the gold-bearing ores to be processed;
• the update of the gold plant process design, with mass balances having been recalculated and key equipment lists repriced to a prefeasibility study level of accuracy to establish water consumption and rates of waste disposal;
• surface geotechnical studies for the tailings disposal site and for the placement and preliminary design of the gold plant infrastructure;
• preliminary openpit designs by RoyalHaskoningDHV mining consultants, with capital and working cost estimates; and
• estimates for preliminary gold plant and infrastructure capital, and working cost estimates, by Basil Read Matomo.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
JP Mining Consulting (scoping study), EnviroSig and SLR Consulting Africa (EIA) and Read Matomo (preliminary gold plant and infrastructure capital and working-cost estimates).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Auroch Minerals, tel +27 11 218 3856, fax +27 11 880 1270 or email admin@aurochminerals.com.
SLR Consulting Africa, tel +27 12 361 8118.
Basil Read Matomo, tel +27 11 418 6300 or fax +27 11 418 6333.