Gold miner Akobo Minerals has progressed with the development of its Segele project, in Ethiopia, during the first quarter of the year.
Notably, the company has completed fabrication and shipping of the main processing plant, as well as the underground mine main boxcut.
As the 2 t/h ultra-small processing plant has arrived on site, Akobo has started engaging with gold refineries to begin establishing refinery agreements.
After the quarter’s end, Akobo produced first gold from the Gingibil quartz vein system by way of bulk sampling and started construction of the main processing plant.
The largest underground incline shaft of the project has advanced 37 m in length. The two smaller entries into the upper part of the orebody, the Western and Eastern winzes, are well advanced to 26 m in length each.
Although overall progress on the project has been somewhat slower than planned, owing to challenging weather conditions, development momentum from 2022 has been maintained, says CEO Jørgen Evjen.
“All our efforts are focused on getting our full-scale processing plant up and running and with it our first sizeable quantities of gold.”