Name and Location
Karma gold project, Burkina Faso.

Client
True Gold Mining.

Project Description
The feasibility study completed on the Karma project supports a heap-leach mine scenario from currently defined openpit deposits containing 949 000 oz of probable mineral reserves.

The heap-leach pad is designed to process oxide and transition ore from the five shallow pits, with a small amount of leachable sulphide ore extracted from two pits.

The two pits with the highest-grade mineral reserves will be mined first, allowing for rapid payback and strong cash flow from the outset of commercial production.

About 113.8-million tonnes of material will be mined from the five openpits over the estimated project life. This will deliver an estimated 33.2-million tonnes of ore to the process facility and 80.6-million tonnes of waste to storage facilities located near each pit. The overall strip ratio for the project is 2.43:1, with mining being conducted 350 days a year by an owner-operated fleet at total material movement rates ranging from 35 000 t/d to 45 000 t/d.

Conventional truck and shovel methods are likely to be used. Two 200 t hydraulic excavators, configured in backhoe mode, will load a fleet of ten 90 t trucks for the transport of ore and waste to the primary crusher and respective near-pit waste dumps.

Four additional 90 t trucks will deliver ore directly from the pits to the process facilities without the need for ore rehandling.

The soft nature of the openpit ore and waste material will allow for free-digging (excavated without blasting) of the bulk of the material.

Twenty-five per cent of the transition ore and all the sulphide ore material will be drilled and blasted at low powder factors. This comprises only about 10% of the total material to be excavated during the mine life.

The Karma project’s process design is based on using conventional heap-leach technology, with a production capacity of four-million tonnes a year. Mined ore will be crushed, agglomerated and conveyed to the leach pad, where it will be stacked in two 10 m lifts and irrigated with a dilute cyanide solution. Gold dissolved by the cyanide will then be adsorbed onto activated carbon in a carbon-in-column circuit. The loaded carbon is then stripped of the gold using Zadra-type elution and the resulting product will be subjected to electrowinning and smelting to produce doré on site.

The mine will produce an average of 97 000 oz/y of gold over a mine life of 8.5 years.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of  $178.2-million and after-tax internal rate of return of 43.1%, with payback after 1.4-years.

Value
The project requires initial capital of $131.5-million, including on-site working capital and contingency, to support the construction of a mine and associated facilities, with a process capacity of four-million tonnes a year.

Franco-Nevada and Sandstorm Gold have entered into a $120-million stream financing agreement, with True Gold Mining to assist in funding the construction of the Karma project.

Duration
The implementation schedule will be carried out over 18 months, with prestripping beginning 12 months prior to the first gold pour, which is expected at the end of 2015.

Latest Developments
True Gold temporarily suspended construction activities at its Karma project in January, after several hundred members from two surrounding communities, Ramatoulaye and Namissiguima, had marched on the mine, threatened employees and damaged equipment.

Damages to equipment and site infrastructure amounted to about $6.1-million.

As prescribed under applicable Burkina Faso labour laws, True Gold has formalised a technical shutdown of the project, which will enable it to preserve capital in the near term and resume construction quickly and efficiently, while still providing staff with a source of income.

Despite reassurances from the company, locals were concerned about potential damage to a mosque, 1.18 km from the edge of the Rambo pit, as well as other buildings in the neighbouring town of Ramatoulaye. They were also concerned about the negative effects the pit could have on dust, noise and groundwater quality in the community.

The company is engaged in productive and ongoing discussions with diverse working groups that include government leaders, traditional authorities, religious groups and local businesses. The groups are also taking an active role in dealing with a small fringe element largely responsible for the unrest in January.

The Burkina Faso Minister of Mines Colonel Boubacar Ba hosted a news conference in February to reassure the local community that mine construction and operations would not impact the Ramatoulaye mosque. Upon the request of local leaders, the Minister also delivered a letter to the Sheik of Ramatoulaye giving the same assurance.

Working with the $131.5-million Karma project’s engineering, procurement and construction management contractor SENET, True Gold has said it expects to optimise the project plan and be in a position to pour the first gold within ten months of construction activities resuming.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Senet (barrage construction, detailed engineering and construction-level design work).

On Budget and on Time?
To date, all aspects of the project are on time and within budget.

Contact Details for Project Information
True Gold Mining, tel +1 604 801 5020 or email info@truegoldmining.com.