El Salvador president proposes bill to overturn metals mining ban
In 2017, El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban forms of metals mining.
Roxgold has released assay results for reverse circulation and diamond tail drilling completed at the Koula deposit within its Seguela development project in Côte d’Ivoire.
The drill highlights include 14 metres of 42.9 g/t gold starting at 61 metres; 11 metres of 46.2 g/t gold from 48 metres; and 18 metres of 22.1 g/t from 175 metres.
A four-rig infill program is underway at the Koula deposit, which is aimed at infilling this deposit on 25-metre centres to establish a future indicated resource. Additional extension drilling is also ongoing. Current inferred resources at Koula stand at 1.1 million tonnes grading 8.1 g/t gold for a total of 281,000 gold oz.
“Today’s results continue to demonstrate Koula’s ability to add significant value to the Séguéla gold project, through its ongoing expansion and the high grade tenor of mineralization,” John Dorward, Roxgold’s president and CEO, said in a release.
A feasibility study for Seguela is expected in the second quarter of 2021, with a construction decision anticipated shortly thereafter for a potential first gold pour in 2022.
In April 2020, the company published the results of a preliminary economic assessment on Seguela. The study outlined an open pit operation producing an average of 103,000 oz of gold a year over an eight-year life at all-in sustaining costs of $749 per oz. With an initial capital outlay of $142 million, the project has an after-tax net present value estimate, at a 5% discount rate, of $268 million and a 66% internal rate of return, based on a gold price assumption of $1,450 per oz.
In December, the company received the mining permit from the government of Côte d’Ivoire to develop and operate Seguela.
Last year, Roxgold generated 133,940 gold oz. at its Yaramoko mine complex in Burkina Faso. This year, the mine is expected to produce 120,000 to 130,000 gold oz.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
