Asante Gold is on a path to becoming a mid-tier gold producer, after acquiring two brownfield projects over the last few years. Could you walk us through your current production plan?

For the 2023 fiscal year ending in January, we are expecting to reach a run rate of 400,000 oz/y from the Bibiani open pit and Chirano open pit + underground. We are also planning to go underground at Bibiani. The Bibiani sulfide plant should be running in early 2024, with gold recovery over 92%. This will bring our production from Bibiani to about 250,000 oz/y, to be ramped up to 350,000 oz/y in early 2025. With the 200,000 oz/y coming from Chirano, by 2025 we are looking at an annual production profile of about 550,000 oz. Currently, we have several capital initiatives to increase our recovery at both mines, boost our ounce production by 30%, and reduce AISC by 10%. We expect to bring down the AISC to between US$1,200-1,300/oz by the end of the year. 

What synergies between the mines have been created with the acquisition of Chirano? 

The Chirano lease is immediately contiguous to Bibiani’s. The acquisition gave us an opportunity to control 53 km along the Bibiani and Chirano shear zones. This is an extraordinarily prospective trend that has produced over 8 million oz throughout its history. The exploration results achieved over the past few years suggests that we have only started to understand just how much gold this belt holds. Since completing the acquisition at Chirano last August, we have been able to establish a life of mine of more than 10 years, just like we did at Bibiani. 

Can you elaborate on your near-mine exploration focus?

Asante Gold has been able to add significant reserves on the back of satellite deposits at Bibiani. Walsh, for example, which we expected could produce about 20,000 oz, has now delivered over 100,000 oz and we expect it to be a robust underground producer as well. Grasshopper, another satellite pit, is set to deliver 60-70,000 oz over the next six to eight months. These deposits were not in the original plan when we took over Bibiani two years ago. As our exploration continued, we made new, near-mine discoveries at Russel and Russel South. Both will emerge as major producers, the exact numbers to be communicated late 2023 or early 2024 through a resource estimate. Moving to Aboduabo, our primary target at Chirano, we see the outline of a discovery similar to what the main Bibiani pit looked like 25 years ago – 1 km in length, 250 m width, and grades running up to 3g/t Au. After completing about 60 holes over 30,000 m, we continue to get more hits. We should announce a maiden resource later this year for Aboduabo. 

Is the economic crisis in Ghana impacting operators like Asante, especially around local procurement?

Since we do most of our business in US$, we have not felt a negative impact as a consequence of the macroeconomic situation. Actually, Ghana’s infrastructure is very efficient in terms of getting materials through the ports, with a supply chain up to three times shorter than other parts of Africa – what takes two to three months here is about six months in other countries. 

But the main value of Ghana is its incredible geological prospectivity. There is an African saying that goes “if you want to find an elephant, go to an elephant country.” If we look globally, the biggest discoveries continue to be made on the Carlin trend in Nevada or the Kalgoolie-Kambalda trend in Australia. The Bibiani & Chirano shear zones are very similar in terms of size and manner of gold deposition. So, we are excited to see how this develops.

Ghana has over 100 years of gold mining and some of the largest deposits in the world.  I personally do not think that it is the unexplored areas that will deliver elephant discoveries, but those that are known for gold. In Ghana, the story is just starting to be written, especially as we become more adept at exploration.

How has Asante’s CSR mandate changed since becoming a producer?

Asante Gold inherited two very strong CSR (and ESG) programs. We were able to build on that strong track record. As a Ghanaian company that has very close ties with the local culture, we have been able to deepen the level of integration with communities and make sure the resources we make available are applied in the most meaningful ways. I came into this industry in 1979, at a time when environmental management or community engagement were hardly something that was talked about. More than 20 years ago, these topics became addressed peripherally. Today, it has become a core business practice, brought to the CEO table. The industry has made important strides over the decades, and ESG is surely at the heart of Asante Gold.

What makes Asante Gold a good investment option?

We are not a player that has been in the market for 20 years and fully valued, and I think people are beginning to understand the potential uplift. On a path to reach over half a million oz/y, and given the immense exploration potential on the Chirano-Bibiani corridor, Asante Gold is a real growth opportunity that has proven it can deliver.