PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold developer Bassari Resources has declared a maiden ore reserve of 860 000 t, grading 5.7 g/t gold for 158 000 oz at its Makabingui gold project, in Senegal.
“The maiden openpit gold ore reserve for Makabingui is a significant milestone and underpins our high-grade openpit development strategy,” said MD Jozsef Patarica on Tuesday.
He noted that the company was moving forward on all fronts to rapidly unlock value at the project, adding that the ore reserve had been delivered on the back of the recent scoping study, which highlighted further high-grade zones within the existing resource.
“Our primary objective is to fast-track Makabingui into production, establishing early positive cash flow. To deliver this we are reviewing funding options with a number of banks and financial institutions and in parallel, progressing the plant upgrade design work and developing the mine services contract,” Patarica said.
A feasibility study predicted the capital cost for Makabingui to be $12-million and that it would produce about 171 000 oz of gold.
The study indicated that the 11.9-million-tonne resource, grading 2.6 g/t gold, could deliver 50 000 oz/y of gold over a three-and-a-half-year mine life.