Name and Location
Wa gold project, Ghana.

Client
Azumah Resources.

Project Description
Provisional feasibility study results on the Wa gold project have confirmed a solid project with no technical, social or environmental impediments to development; improved fundamentals such as mine life, ore grade and strip ratio; and operating and capital costs in line with, if not better than, guidance provided when the ore reserves were issued last year.

The study comprises a rigorous technical review of the project to assess the impact of the considerably increased Julie mineral resource, expanded mining inventory and extensive confirmatory metallurgical testwork. This compares favourably with the production estimate of 74 000 oz/y and a mine life of six years estimated in the 2012 feasibility study.

Based on an inventory of 652 000 oz of gold, the Wa project is expected to deliver an average of 90 000 oz/y of gold over a seven-year mine life.

The project is based on a conventional carbon-in-leach gold plant, located adjacent to Azumah’s flagship 1.4 km strike Kunche deposit, which will treat 1.2-million tonnes a year of primary ore and up to 1.8-million tonnes a year of softer oxide and transition ore.

Ore will be sourced from the staged mining of a series of shallow openpits at Kunche, Bepkong and Aduane, all in the Wa Lawra district, with ore from Julie and Collette, in the Wa East area, trucked on mostly public roads to the Kunche plant.

The existing two-million-ounce mineral resource has highlighted that any further reductions in operating costs will continue to increase mineral resources, convert these to ore reserves and increase mine life.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Capital costs are estimated at $168-million, in line with previous guidance, and include all plant, infrastructure, engineering, procurement and construction management, as well as owners and preproduc-tion costs. The costs also include all taxes and duties, including VAT, and contingencies and working capital.

Azumah has also bought the core mining fleet for an additional $27.8-million. The fleet will be externally operated and maintained under a hybrid contract mining arrangement, with substantial offsetting savings in contract mining rates.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Additional work is planned to enhance overall returns at the Wa project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Azumah Resources, tel +61 8 9486 7911, fax +61 8 9481 4417 or email info@azumahresources.com.au.