Name and Location
Asanko gold mine project, Ghana.

Client
Asanko Gold, with a 10% free carried interest held by the Ghana government, which becomes effective once commercial production is achieved.

Project Description
The Asanko mine was created by combining the Obotan and Esaase projects into one project, which will be developed over two phases.

The Asanko mine has 7.5-million ounces of measured and indicated resources, including 4.8-million ounces of proven and probable reserves.

Phase 1 is based on PMI Gold's definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Obotan project, published in September 2012. The Obotan project comprises the Nkran pit and four satellite deposits, Abore, Asuadai, Dynamite Hill and Adubiaso. It will be a low-cost, long-life mine producing 190 000 oz/y of gold at steady state.

The Phase 2 expansion will integrate the Esaase deposit with the Phase 1 Obotan project to create one large, multipit mine producing an average of 411 000 oz of gold over a 10.5-year life-of-mine.

The ore will be mined and crushed at Esaase and then conveyed to a central processing facility at Obotan. The processing facility will be expanded with a five-million-tonne-a-year flotation plant, which will be built alongside the Phase 1 three-million-tonne-a-year carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant. Further, the throughput of the Phase 1 CIL plant will be upgraded and increased to 3.8-million tonnes a year by adding two extra CIL tanks to enable the blending of oxide ores from Esaase with feed from the Phase 1 pits.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The Obotan DFS has estimated capital costs of $296.6-million.

Since acquiring PMI Gold earlier this year, Asanko Gold has updated the capital cost estimate to a higher level of accuracy, suitable for use as a project control budget estimate (CBE). The CBE estimates a capital cost for Phase 1 of $295-million, including contingency for estimating inaccuracy and owner's contingency. The capital estimate is generally considered accurate to +/- 5%.

The CBE was designed on a modular basis to cater for the possible inclusion of Phase 2 on the same site.

Duration
Phase 1 construction started in the third quarter of 2014, with first gold targeted in the first quarter of 2016 and steady-state production of 190 000 oz/y of gold expected in the second quarter of 2016.

Latest Developments
Asanko poured first gold at its eponymous mine in January this year, marking an historic milestone in the company’s transition from explorer to producer.

Phase 1 was successfully built within the parameters project’s capital budget and commissioned one month ahead of schedule, with the company producing about 400 oz of gold.

The company expects to declare commercial production during the second quarter of 2016.

Meanwhile, Asanko has reported that it continues to develop the Nkran pit, with full drill and blast operations continuing at long-term steady-state levels. To date, more than 22-million tonnes of material has been removed from the pit and various ore benches have been exposed.

There are now enough working faces available in the pit to allow for the necessary quantities of ore to be mined at planned grades to feed the mill at designed throughput rates.

Grade-control drilling is also being undertaken according to plan, with the next six months of planned ore having been drilled and modelled into the medium-term mine plan. The grade-control-based mine plan for 2016 is expected to be in line with the definitive project plan, which was published in November 2014.

As at December 31, Asanko had about $116-million cash in the bank.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
DRA (engineering, procurement and construction management contractor) and Knight Piesold (tailings storage facility design contractor).

On Budget and on Time?
First gold production is scheduled for January – more than a month ahead of schedule and within the $295-million capital budget.

Contact Details for Project Information
Asanko Gold investor relations manager Alex Buck, tel +44 7932 740 452 or email alex.buck@asanko.com.
DRA, tel  +27 11 202 8600 or email info@DRAglobal.com.
Knight Piesold, tel +27 11 806 7111 or fax +27 11 806 7100.