Aim-listed GoldStone Resources reports that, despite various setbacks that delayed its targeted production timetable, the company achieved its key milestone of gold production in 2021, with its objective for the year ahead being to ramp up its Homase and Akrokeri operations to a steady state and achieve consistent production.

A November gold pour of 510 oz of gold doré, has been held in stock to accommodate the October and November 2021 gold loan payments to Asia Investments Management Services (AIMS), which totalled 388 oz of gold bullion.

A further gold pour is targeted for early January, while in an effort to reduce shipment costs, an agreement with AIMS was reached whereby the October and November 2021 payments will be shipped this month, with no additional interest incurred.

The December 2021 gold loan payment – 282 oz kg of gold bullion – due to AIMS will accrue interest until shipment.

The company has, to date, recovered about 1 305 oz of gold, of which 510 oz are held as gold doré and the remainder in concentrate, with a second pour anticipated early this month.

GoldStone has stacked 108 000 t of ore onto the heap leach pads which, at a grade of about 1.7 g/t, equates to about 6 490 oz of contained gold.

The company has recovered about 20% of the contained gold, which was less than the expected recovery rate due to agglomeration issues.

Also, GoldStone is in the process of carrying out detailed test work and cost analysis to understand the leach kinetics within the heap so as to optimise the recovery of the remaining contained gold.

The final engineering stages for Cell 3 of the heap leach pad, about 7 000 m², is being completed, and the geofabric and geomembrane will be laid.

The test work being undertaken on the existing leach pads, including GoldStone’s understanding of the previously encountered agglomeration issues, will feed into the stacking process design for Cell 3, so as to enhance recovery and ensure the cell is ready for stacking later this month.

The initial planned mining rate for the first six months of the year is expected to be about 60 000 t a month, which the company then expects to increase in the second half of the year.

As with 2021, GoldStone’s board expects this year to be busy for it, as the company progresses the development of the Homase mine by enhancing the heap leach process and ramping up production to achieve the previously planned production rate of 25 000 oz/y of gold doré.

CEO Emma Priestley says that while 2021 was a difficult year in a number of respects, it was also a year of change, as GoldStone transformed into a gold producer in challenging circumstances. 

“The company nevertheless made good progress and has maintained its low cost base strategy, and the board is grateful for the support of the company's existing shareholders and new investors.”

In terms of exploration, GoldStone undertook a further geochemical soil sampling programme within the Homase and Akrokeri licence areas, as infill and seeking parallel zones of mineralisation, following the programme carried out in 2018.

In addition, soil sampling was undertaken at a former artisanal mining area in the far north of the Homase licence area.

At the former Akrokeri underground mine, a drilling programme has been set out and, subject to availability of a rig, exploration drilling is expected to start as soon as practicably possible.