Name of the Project
Segele gold project.

Location
Ethiopia.

Project Owner/s
Scandinavian gold exploration and mining company Akobo Minerals.

Project Description
A scoping study has confirmed the potential economics of the project.

Akobo Minerals is planning to mine the gold mineralisation using methods such as shrinkage stoping. Ore will be brought to surface using an incline shaft.

At peak production, almost 6 000 t a month of rock will be mined and this material will be fed into an industry-standard crushing and gravity circuit, with cyanidation where necessary.

The mine life is estimated at 27 months.

The company plans to buy a plant capable of processing 20 t/h, but will initially operate it at 10 t/h. The mine plant will be a turnkey solution comprising a grinder, concentrator and cyanide leach containers.

Akobo will manage the processing plant, but will appoint a mining contractor to do the mining.

The plant is expected to extract 90% of all gold in the mineralisation; this will be confirmed by ongoing metallurgical testwork.

Potential Job Creation
None stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
None stated.

Capital Expenditure
Total capital expenditure for establishing the mine plant is estimated at $8-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Mining is expected to start in October, with first gold extraction to begin in the first quarter of 2023. Full production is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2023.

Latest Developments
Akobo Minerals announced in December 2022 that it had made a new gold discovery at its Segele gold mine.

The new gold occurrence is located 140 m due west of the main Segele mineralisation.

This is the third distinct style of gold mineralisation in the area.

The first style is the main Segele ore comprising a high- and bonanza-grade orogenic gold deposit. The free gold is hosted by metamorphosed ultramafics overprinted by calc silicate alteration.

The second gold mineralisation discovered a few months back is found about 100 m west of Segele and is coarse grained with a very high nugget effect. It is hosted in a fault breccia with minor quartz veining and is continuous between drill holes.

The new mineralisation comprises coarse-grained gold hosted in an ultramafic schist on the edge of a metaperidotitic rock unit. The target units have been traced on surface for a strike length of more than 100 m, but mineralisation has been confirmed at only one location so far.

Up until now, this style of gold mineralisation has only been observed in hand samples and Akobo says that having found the source of the mineralisation is a great step forward.

In addition to targeting the new mineralisation, the company will start drilling out previously identified areas closer to the Segele main orebody where artisanal miners have exposed gold mineralisation and grab samples from pits have shown very high gold content. This area is now available for further exploration.

The company expects drilling will start as soon as enough data has been gathered to accurately plan a drill programme, which is likely to be this month.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Peacocke and Simpson (metallurgical test work); IW Mining (mining contractor) and Solo Resources (processing plant).

Contact Details for Project Information
Akobo Minerals, tel +47 92 80 40 14 or email info@akobominerals.com.