Asanko expects first phase of gold extraction from Ghana mine soon

The first phase of gold is expected to be extracted in January from Asanko Gold Inc.'s mine in Ghana.

Life expectancy for the mine is 12 years, over which time Asanko officials said the mine is expected to yield 190,000 ounces of gold a year.

Currently, ore is being fed from the run of mine (ROM) at the site. Milling operations are expected to begin soon, as mill motors are in place.

"Commissioning of Phase 1 has now commenced, and we expect to start the mill and CIL circuits shortly," Peter Breese, Asanko president and CEO, said. "We anticipate first gold from the entire processing circuit in January 2016. Mill feed rates and gold recoveries are expected to ramp up to steady-state levels over the first three months of operations, with commercial production targeted the second quarter of 2016.

"Mining operations are running smoothly, and we are starting to mine the main Nkran ore body as the 21.7Mt pre-strip nears completion," Breese said. "To date, we have mined 19Mt of material out of the pit. The RC grade control drilling program is confirming the resource model, and we now have almost five months of grade-controlled ore delineated and ready for mining. Over the next few months, we aim to increase these detailed reserves to between nine to 12 months ahead of the production schedule."

More information about the Ghana gold mine project is available online at www.asanko.com.