Asante Gold has delivered the first mineralised material from the Russel starter pit to the process plant at the Bibiani gold mine in Ghana, following the receipt of all necessary permits from Ghanaian authorities.
Situated 3.8km from the processing facility, the Russel deposit contains 119,000 ounces of measured and indicated gold resources at a grade of 1.80 grams per tonne.
The first oxide mineralised material from the upper benches of the Russel Starter Pit was mined on 17 September 2024.
Prior to this, on 10 September, the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency granted a supplementary permit to allow mining operations at the Russel pit. This was a key step in extending the mine operating plan southward, said Asante Gold.
Following this, the Minerals Commission of Ghana updated the mine operating permit on 16 September to include the Russel operations.
Vuluxx was appointed to undertake site preparation work, including the construction of a 1km haulage road linking to existing mining infrastructure. The initial yield from the starter pit is expected to achieve a 90% gold recovery rate through gravity and carbon-in-leach treatment.
The initial mining fleet has been mobilised, with operations set to ramp up in the coming weeks, aiming for a full production run rate by 30 October 2024. Vuluxx began infrastructure development in May 2024.
Asante Gold president and CEO Dave Anthony said: “This is the third satellite pit explored, defined and optimised by Asante since acquiring the Bibiani properties, and the start of production at Russel represents another successful milestone on our journey to grow Asante’s production to more than 500,000 ounces by 2028.
“Approval for mining at Russel follows other major catalysts, including the re-routing of the Bibiani-Goaso highway, which will allow us to access additional oxide mineralised material, and further progress on the construction of the Bibiani sulphide treatment plant.”
The Russel starter pit is designed to operate for the first 15 months, followed by the Russel Cut 2. It is estimated to yield a total of 1.9 million tonnes at a grade of 1.62 grams per tonne over a period of 30 months.
According to Asante Gold, the new output will complement production from the main pit.
The mining contractor will manage all mining services, including waste removal and the transportation of mineralised material to the run-of-mine pad.
Asante Gold is also actively working to extend the known Russel resource down plunge and along strike to the south.
A preliminary study into the transition to underground mining at Russel will be conducted as part of Asante Gold’s strategic development plan.
The Bibiani gold mine achieved its first gold pour by processing gravity gold concentrate recovered by the Knelson concentrator in July 2022.
