REG - Goldstone Resources - Operational Update on High Grade Akrokeri Mine

Goldstone ResourcesAnnouncement

10/07/2018 07:05

RNS Number : 0802U
Goldstone Resources Ltd
10 July 2018
 


10 July 2018
GOLDSTONE RESOURCES LIMITED
("GoldStone" or the "Company")
 
Operational Update on High Grade Akrokeri Mine
and Scoping Study & EIS Underway
 
GoldStone Resources Limited (AIM: GRL), is pleased to update the market on the progress of activities at its Akrokeri-Homase Gold Project ("AKHM" or "the Project") in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.  This includes sinking a new shaft to access the historic high grade Akrokeri underground gold mine ("Akrokeri Mine" or "Mine"), one of two previously producing operations at AKHM, to enable the Company to complete a geological assessment of the Mine.  The Akrokeri Mine is located approximately 6 km along strike from one of the world's major gold mines, AngloGold Ashanti's ("AngloGold") Obuasi Mine, which has a total historical and current resource in excess of 70 million ounces of gold.
 
Highlights:
·      New 'Norton' shaft (the "Norton Shaft") is being sunk 40 metres east of the historic North Shaft at the Akrokeri Mine to a target depth of 30 metres
·        The Norton Shaft is intended to provide
o  access to the mineralised zone at the Mine, which produced 75,000 ounces of gold in the early 1900s at a recovered average grade of 24 g/t Au
o  access to the old mine workings, which were fully operational until an ingress of water in 1909
o  valuable geological information and allow the extraction of samples for test work
·        Initiated bulk sample programme along the Homase Trend
·     Commencement of an environment baseline assessment to support onward development at AKHM, ahead of intended production within two years
 
Emma Priestley, CEO of GoldStone, commented:
 
"This update is a culmination of the previous six month's work, that for the first time includes the collation and review of information from all historic exploration, drilling and mining activities across the Project, which we believe reinforces AKHM's prospectivity and upside potential.
 
"We are extremely excited by the opportunities at AKHM, including several new targets identified during the review, being the Akrokeri Mine, the potential for further pits along the Homase Trend that includes the Homase Pit, which was mined by AngloGold in 2002/3 at a recovered grade of 2.5 g/t Au, and additional parallel zones.  
 
"With Ghana's Parliament recently ratifying the regulatory and fiscal agreements for the redevelopment of our neighbour, the Obuasi Gold Mine, and the issuing of their environmental permit, the attitude in Ghana towards mining is increasingly positive, reinforcing the backdrop to our strategy of rapidly advancing the Project and achieving production within two years.
 
"I am currently in Ghana with the management team, planning the next stages of our development and how to optimise the path to production to realise the intrinsic value of AKHM."
 
Accessing the Akrokeri Mine
 
The main focus of work at the Akrokeri Mine is the sinking of the Norton Shaft, which is being developed adjacent to the historic North Shaft to access the:
·        historic ore body area; and
·        old underground mine workings.
 
Access to the historic ore body area at the Akrokeri Mine will provide the Company with valuable geological information, enabling the Company to complete a full geological assessment of the Mine.  It will also allow the Company to extract samples as part of it bulk test-work programme detailed below.
 
Access to the old mine workings will, depending on the ground conditions, also enable GoldStone to carry out geological mapping and to investigate potential ore that was not exploited by the historic miners.  The Akrokeri Mine was closed in 1909 having produced 75,000 ounces of gold at a final recovered average grade of 0.73 oz/t, equivalent to approximately 24 g/t.
 
It is often the case that in historic underground mining, considerable amounts of ore were often left behind, both in-situ and also from spillage that was never cleaned up.  The Akrokeri Mine is particularly interesting in this regard, due to the fact that the mine was abruptly closed following an ingress of water meaning that a mine clean-up was, in all likelihood, never executed.  On that basis and assuming the gold recovery from previous workings was not 100%, the Board believe that the mined head grade at the Mine could have been greater than 24 g/t Au.
 
The Company is currently sinking the Norton Shaft, measuring 3 metres by 3 metres, to approximately 30 metres depth below surface.  Timber sets are being installed in the side walls of the shaft as the sinking progresses and the shaft is being partitioned to create three compartments, the manway compartment, the services compartment and the hoisting compartment.  
 
Once the shaft is at 30 metres depth below surface, a cross-cut will be developed to gain access to the historic mineralised area whilst at the same time, we will probe for any old workings/voids that may allow the safe access to the old mine workings.
 
The Norton Shaft is being sunk approximately 40 metres to the east of the existing North Shaft that is now derelict.  Work at the old North Shaft is currently under way to ascertain if this shaft can be re-opened for use by Goldstone.  Depending on the state of the shaft, it may be utilised as a second point of egress, for ventilation purposes and also to gain access to the old underground mine workings.
 
As at 6 July 2018, the Norton Shaft had been sunk to 20 metres depth below surface and 19 metres fully timbered and partitioned.
 
Due to the ongoing deepening of the Norton Shaft, an electric driven winch is being installed to assist with the extraction of the materials.
 
Scoping Study for Bulk Sample/Test Work
 
Since the confirmation of the > 8 km Homase Trend (announced on 20 June 2018), which runs from the Akrokeri Mine to north of the Homase pit and includes the current mineral resource of 602,000 ounces JORC classification, GoldStone has initiated a scoping study to strategically locate material to produce a sample for a bulk test-work programme.  This is an important step in the Company's aim of achieving production within two years as it will assist with determining the optimum recovery process for AKHM, combining both gold recovery and cost effectiveness.
 
It is the Company's intention, once the Akrokeri Mine has been accessed, to also accumulate a bulk sample from the underground deposit for the test-work programme.  Once the deposit is accessed the size of the bulk sample will be determined.
 
Environmental Base Line Study
 
GoldStone has commenced the terrestrial baseline work for the Environmental and Social Impact Study ("ESIA").  The collection of the required data is to ensure the most expedient and thorough approach to completing the AKHM's Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") in respect of permitting.  The collection stations have been mobilised and a full time ESIA Assistant has been employed.  The EIS is one of the requirements for the application of the mining licences.
 
Once the baseline data is collected, GoldStone will engage in additional dialogue with the local communities to optimise AKHM's benefits and minimise the impacts associated with AKHM's construction and subsequent operations.
 
**ENDS**
 
For further information, please contact:
 




GoldStone Resources Limited


 




Emma Priestley


Tel: +44 (0)7867 785177 / +233 (0)55 581 8855




 


 




Strand Hanson Limited


 




Richard Tulloch / James Bellman


Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494




 


 




SI Capital Limited


 




Nick Emerson


Tel: +44 (0)1483 413 500




 


 




Citigate Dewe Rogerson


 




Louise Mason-Rutherford


Tel: +44 (0)20 7282 2932




 


 




St Brides Partners Ltd


 




Susie Geliher / Juliet Earl


Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177




 
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014.
 
About GoldStone Resources Limited
 
GoldStone Resources Limited (AIM: GRL) is an AIM quoted gold exploration and development company with projects in Ghana, Senegal and Gabon that range from grassroots to advanced exploration.
 
The Company is focused on developing the Akrokeri-Homase project in south-western Ghana, which hosts a JORC Code compliant 602,000 oz gold resource at an average grade of 1.77 g/t, along strike from the Obuasi Gold Mine, one of the world's major gold mines with a total historical and current resource in excess of 70 million ounces of gold.  GoldStone's existing resource is confined to a 4 km zone of the Homase Trend, including Homase North, Homase Pit and Homase South.
 
The project hosts two former mines, the Akrokerri Ashanti Mine Ltd, which produced 75,000 oz gold @ 24 g/t recovered grade in the early 1900s, and the Homase Pit which AngloGold Ashanti developed in 2002/03 producing 52,000 oz gold @ 2.5 g/t recovered.  It is the Company's intention to build a portfolio of high-quality gold projects in Ghana, with a particular focus on the highly prospective Ashanti Gold Belt.




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