VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – An infill drilling campaign to upgrade previously reported inferred resources into the indicated category has resulted in junior miner Asanko Gold lifting the compliant resources and reserves at the Akwasiso deposit, part of the Asanko gold mine, in Ghana, by 79% and 62%, respectively.
The Vancouver-based junior said Thursday the updated Akwasiso mineral resource estimate now comprised 6.72-million tonnes grading 1.49 g/t for 322 500 oz of contained gold in the indicated category.
The increase was driven by 24% better grades, up from 1.2 g/t to 1.49 g/t.
Asanko said the design of the openpit has been revised based on the updated resource estimate and geological model, resulting in reserves now totalling 3.83-million tonnes grading 1.74 g/t for 214 500 oz of gold. Grades have also increased by 26%, compared with the December 2016 reserve Estimate of 1.38 g/t.
Akwasiso is now the largest satellite deposit within the Asanko mine multi-pit complex and scheduled to start mining in the first quarter of 2018. Akwasiso is located about 3 km north east of the mill, which is being upgraded to five-million tonnes a year, and will provide increasing at-surface ounces that have lower mining and processing costs than the current Nkran pit operations.
Asanko expects to receive the environmental permit shortly.
“It is pleasing to note that the prospectivity of our large-scale tenement package in Ghana continues to deliver significant low cost ounces. Since acquiring the deposit in mid-2016, we have spent just $8 per resource ounce on the drilling programme at Akwasiso and added significant reserves at quality grades, all within a short trucking distance of our processing plant,” president and CEO Peter Breese stated.