Asanko Gold Inc. has announced that it will go ahead with the construction of Phase 1 of its Asanko Gold Mine.
Phase 1 is based on the construction of the Obotan Gold Project which was acquired during the takeover of PMI Gold Corporation (“PMI Gold”) in February 2014. Phase 2 anticipates the inclusion of the adjacent Esaase deposit.
Work has been underway at the project site since April in anticipation that the investment would be approved by the Board of Directors.
Construction will start shortly, with ground breaking expected within the next month. The first strike of gold is targeted in the first quarter of 2016, with steady stage production anticipated in second quarter of that year.
Asanko’s President and CEO, Peter Breese, said: “The Board’s approval of Phase 1 of the Asanko Gold Mine is the first step towards achieving our vision of becoming a mid-tier gold producer. Our detailed engineering work to-date has confirmed the robustness of the project, with the CBE (Contract Budget Estimate) in-line with PMI Gold’s 2012 DFS (Definitive Feasibility Study). Now that we have approved the Project, we are targeting steady state production of approximately 200,000 ounces per year in Q2 2016.”
Projected economic returns are at US$1,300 per ounce. Around 25 million ounces of gold will be produced over the estimated 11.5 years life of the mine.
Credit : BF&T Online
