PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold explorer Azumah Resources has reported a maiden underground resource of 279 700 oz for the Bepkong deposit at its Wa gold project, in Ghana.
The resource estimate includes a measured and indicated resource of 167 500 oz, at 4.05 g/t.
Azumah on Tuesday said the definition of a maiden underground resource at Bepkong had more than doubled the total Bepkong mineral resource estimate to 517 000 oz, and lifted the grade by 59% to 2.38 g/t gold.
The total mineral resource estimate for the greater Wa project has also increased by 11%, to 2.77-million ounces, of which 65% has been classified as measured and indicated.
“Confirmation of a high-grade underground mineral resource at our Bepkong deposit of 279 700 oz, grading 3.59 g/t gold, provides a tremendous boost to Azuma’s fast evolving Wa gold project,” said Azumah MD Stephen Stone, noting that none of the underground mineral resource had been incorporated into the current one-million-ounce reserve, or into the feasibility study for the Wa project, which would be completed by year-end.
“A scoping study evaluating underground mining at Bepkong will be reported later in July and our expectations are that this could have a materially positive impact on what is an already financially robust project.
“With the prevailing gold price well above the $1 300/oz used in determining the ore reserve, the case for development becomes even more compelling and, looking to the longer term, we still have many additional shallow and deeper targets to evaluate within our regional-scale 2 400 km2 of prospective tenure.”