Name of the Project
Singida gold mining project.

Location
The Ikungi administrative district of the Singida region, in central Tanzania.

Project Owner/s
Gold producer, developer and explorer Shanta Gold.

Project Description
Project economics estimated in house provide for the processing of 2.5-million tonnes of ore from surface mining at an average grade of 3 g/t for the production of 221 000 oz of recovered gold over an initial seven-year mine life.

Singida will use conventional openpit mining methods.

Average life-of-mine gold production is estimated at 32 000 oz/y at an all-in sustaining cost of $869 /oz.

The processing plant will be a conventional carbon-in-leach plant with gravity concentrator and will have a nominal throughput of 365 000 t/y.

Singida is hosted in a greenstone deposit, lending itself well to upside exploration potential. Future exploration will target the extension of reserves and will be funded by cash flow from production at Singida.

Successful future exploration could justify an increase in the size of the processing plant to increase throughput and production.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Using a projected gold price of $1 700/oz, an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $56.3-million has been estimated, alongside and unlevered internal rate of return of 49%. Payback is estimated at 40 months.

Capital Expenditure
The preproduction capital expenditure required to develop Singida until first gold pour is estimated at $26.4-million, with an additional $10.4-million for preproduction stripping.

Planned Start/End Date
The project remains on track for first production in the first quarter of 2023.

Latest Developments
Shanta Gold CEO Eric Zurrin has said project construction is on schedule for first production in March.

Shanta has reported that the overall construction activity at its Singida project is 93% complete, with all essential equipment for operation of the gold mine being delivered to site.

The stockpile of crushed ore has reached 32 300 t – equal to more than one month of supply, significantly derisking the ramp-up period of operations.

The run-of-mine stockpile at the Singida process plant is currently 127 000 t at an average grade of 3.34 g/t containing 13 581 oz of gold – equal to about four months of processing.

The installation of tailings storage facility high-density polyethylene liner for partial deposition is on track for completion in March.

Shanta also reports that the hot commissioning of the milling circuit is planned for later in February, while hot commissioning of the full process plant is planned for March.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Metso (crushing circuit); and NCP (manufacturing of the grinding and gravity circuit mill).

Contact Details for Project Information
Shanta Gold (Tanzania), tel +255 22 292 5148, fax +255 22 292 5151 or email mining@shantagold.com or info@shantagold.com.