Name of the Project
Nyanzaga gold project.

Location
The project is located in the Lake Victoria Goldfields region, in north-west Tanzania.

Client
The project is a joint venture between OreCorp and Acacia Mining.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) on the Nyanzaga project has confirmed a robust project and has determined that a concurrent openpit (OP) and underground (UG) mine schedule represents the optimum mining sequence.

The OP will deliver the base load of mineralised material over the life-of-mine and is expected to deliver about 1.75-million ounces of contained gold over its 12-year mine life, an increase of 25%, or 350 000 oz of gold, on the scoping study assessment.
UG mining will start in Year 1, from a boxcut outside the OP, and is expected to produce about 1.16-million ounces of contained gold, including UG development material. The UG will be developed to a depth of 800 m below surface, with the deposit remaining open at depth. Detailed metallurgical testwork in the PFS has confirmed gold recovery of 88% through a conventional four-million-tonne-a-year carbon-in-leach processing plant, an increase of 3% on the scoping study figure.

Jobs to Be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Preproduction capital costs are estimated at $287-million, which includes a $33-million contingency. The change in capital from the $248-million in the April 2016 scoping study is largely due to the change in the mine schedule resulting in an increased prestrip, which now totals 7.1-million tonnes, increasing the cost of the prestrip from $14-million to $36-million.

The process plant capital cost has increased by about $11-million, resulting from the reduced grind size (P80 of 75 μm, compared with P80 of 106 μm) and the inclusion of additional processing equipment to improve plant availability and operability. The higher initial capital cost, compared with the scoping study estimate, is offset by the increased average yearly life-of-mine (LoM) production and overall LoM ounces, while retaining consistent capital intensity. Consistent with the scoping study, the capital estimate is based on a contractor mining scenario and, therefore, excludes capital for a mining fleet.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The directors believe that the positive results of the PFS underpins the company’s strategy of focusing on near-term production and generating an early cash flow, and further demonstrates the potential of the project to deliver significant returns for shareholders from a substantial gold operation with competitive costs. A definitive feasibility study (DFS) will start on the conclusion of discussions with OreCorp’s JV partner, Acacia Mining, regarding the parameters of the DFS.

The DFS will primarily focus on optimisation of OP and UG mining and will assess the PFS’s proposed timing of the UG operation.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
OreCorp, CEO and MD Matthew Yates, tel +61 0 417 953 315.
Acacia Mining, tel +44 207 129 7150 or fax +44 207 129 7180.