PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed West African Resources was targeting a 2015 production start at its Mankarga 5 project, in Burkina Faso, after acquiring a second-hand heap leach plant.
MD Richard Hyde said on Thursday that the 1.6-million-tonne-a-year plant was currently located in Ghana, within trucking distance to the Boulsa project, which is adjacent to Mankarga 5.
“The heap leach provides the potential for us to fast-track the recently acquired Mankarga 5 deposit into production with an initial production target of 1.6-million tonnes a year, to achieve an initial production of at least 50 000 oz/y, subject to study outcomes,” Hyde said.
He added that the company remained on track to deliver a resource upgrade at Mankarga 5 by the end of the quarter, with the preliminary economic assessment and scoping study due in the first half of the year.
Current work at Mankarga 5 included shallow reverse circulation drilling over 25 sections along strike as well as six diamond core holes beneath open zones at depth. Metallurgical testwork was also being conducted.
West African acquired the Mankarga 5 project through its acquisition of TSX-listed Channel Resources in January this year.