Independent study confirms potential for Centamin to expand its Sukari underground operations
LSE- and TSX-listed Centamin reports that an independent option study by Australian mining consultants Entech has confirmed the potential of its expanding the Sukari underground mine, in Egypt, to 1.5-million tonnes a year of ore milled.
This is at the upper end of the previously indicated range and represents a 31% increase in ore mining rates from the current life-of-mine average of 1.1-million tonnes a year, the gold miner points out.
“Expansion of the Sukari underground mining capacity is a significant step towards delivering on our commitment to consistently produce 500 000 oz/y from the Sukari Gold Mine. The ability to expand the underground is a result of our transformed approach to mineral resource management, which delivered a doubling of the underground reserve in 2021, coupled with the productivity and cost benefits that are being realised following the transition to owner mining.
"The expansion option that we are taking forward to the next phase of mine planning offers both low capital intensity and a lower level of execution risk,” says Centamin CEO Martin Horgan.
The option study determined that Centamin would have to invest between $25-million and $35-million in additional capital expenditure for the expansion, with the funds to be spent primarily on ventilation upgrades, underground development, additional fleet equipment and potential increases to the paste-fill plant capacity.
The gold miner says the next step will be to fully engineer and schedule the expansion during the first half of 2023.
Given lead times for equipment delivery and infrastructure implementation, it is estimated that underground mining rates will gradually ramp up throughout 2024 and reach the expanded steady-state levels during the 2025 financial year.
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