Modern Mining November 2017

GOLD

Bagassi South deposit heads towards development The existing Yaramoko processing plant, seen here, will have to be expanded to a capacity of 400 000 t/a (photo: Roxgold).

the Bagassi South deposit into the Yaramoko permit, which is 90 %-owned by Roxgold. The existing 55 Zone mine and the processing plant are located approximately 1,8 km north of Bagassi South, which has proven and prob- able mineral reserves of 170 000 ounces of gold at 11,54 g/t Au. Based on a gold price of US$1 300/oz, the FS indicates an after-tax NPV 5% of US$50 million; an after-tax IRR of 53,2 %; average total cash costs of US$426/oz (including royalties); and an average AISC of US$630/oz. Pre-production capital is estimated at US$29,6 million with payback being achieved in 1,8 years. The Bagassi South project will benefit from utilisation of existing infrastructure and personnel at 55 Zone. Mining contractor man- agement, workshops, tailings and water dams, camps and grid power reticulation are all exam- ples of existing infrastructure that reduce the overhead burden on Bagassi South as well as assist in the development timeline with shorter mobilisation periods. As outlined in the FS, the initial access to the deposit will be via a single ramp from sur- face to the 5265 level (45 m below surface). The ramp will ultimately be developed to a depth of 260 m below surface (5055 level), provid- ing access to 15 sub-levels on 15 m vertical intervals. The ramp will be centrally posi- tioned along strike and three ore blocks will be accessed by on-vein development to the deposit

Roxgold Inc’s Yaramoko underground gold mine in Burkina Faso could soon be expanded with the addition of a satel- lite underground operation at the Bagassi South deposit. A Feasibility Study (FS) on the project, which would have an estimated average annual gold production of 40 000 ounces over a mine life of 4,2 years, has produced positive results and Roxgold envisages that – subject to the neces- sary permitting being obtained – construction could start early next year with the first ore being delivered late in 2018.

L ocated in the Houndé greenstone region of Burkina Faso, the high- grade (17,1 g/t) Yaramoko mine, which produced its first gold in May 2016, has proven to be a big success for TSX-listed Roxgold, with the origi- nal Feasibility Study assumptions being ex- ceeded. By June this year, the mine – the only underground gold mine in Burkina Faso – had produced 141 000 oz of gold since start-up and Roxgold’s guidance for 2017 is 115 000 to 125 000 ounces at an AISC of US$740 to US$790 per ounce. The proposed Bagassi South project will be the first expansion proj- ect at Yaramoko. The Bagassi South Feasibility Study, led by SRK in partnership with Knight Piésold, DRA, African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) and Roxgold, focuses on the incorporation of

42  MODERN MINING  November 2017