Asanko Gold Announces Q1 2018 Production Results
April 19 2018 - 7:00AM
Q1 2018 Highlights:
Asanko Gold Inc. (“Asanko” or the “Company”)
(TSX:AKG) (NYSE American:AKG) announces production results for the
first quarter (“Q1”) of 2018 from the Asanko Gold Mine (“AGM”),
located in Ghana, West Africa.
Commenting on the quarter Peter Breese,
President and CEO, said, “This is the second consecutive
quarter that the mine has performed ahead of the optimized Life of
Mine Plan, which was introduced in late Q3 2017. The mine performed
exceptionally well and is ahead of plan on the key metrics of gold
production, grade and mill throughput. The enlarged Nkran push back
is progressing ahead of schedule and the mill delivered yet another
record milling performance, both for the quarter and for the month
of March, which is very encouraging. We are on track to meet our
plan and guidance for H1 2018.
I would also like to take this opportunity to
congratulate the entire team for achieving our first year without
any lost time injuries, this is a fantastic result and I’m pleased
to see such diligent commitment by all our employees and
contractors to working in a safe environment and ensuring every one
of us goes home safely after each shift. ”
Health and SafetyThere were no
lost time injuries (“LTI”) reported during the quarter. On March
19, 2018, the mine achieved one year LTI-free with over 5,945,246
million man hours worked.
ProductionDuring the quarter,
the AGM sourced ore from Nkran, Akwasiso, Dynamite Hill and Nkran
Extension as well as on-surface stockpiles. Mining operations at
Nkran continued to focus on waste removal as part of the ongoing
larger Cut 2 push back, with a consequent increase in the strip
ratio. Gold grades for the quarter were lower, as expected,
due to the lower ore yield from Nkran, and feeding lower grade
surface stockpiles to the mill. Grade and gold production is
expected to be biased towards the second half of the year when Cut
2 at Nkran will start delivering steady state levels of ore
production, thereby reducing the dependence on stockpiles.
The processing plant achieved another quarterly
record milling performance of 1.27 million tonnes, processing a
monthly record of 432,410 tonnes in March, which is above the
recently upgraded design of 5 million tonnes per annum throughput.
Metallurgical recovery was slightly ahead of plan and
continued to exceed design levels despite higher mill throughput
and lower feed grade.
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AGM Key Production Statistics |
Units |
Q2 2017 |
Q3 2017 |
Q4 2017 |
Q1 2018 |
Total Tonnes Mined |
000 t |
7,506 |
8,519 |
11,494 |
12,743 |
Waste Tonnes Mined |
000 t |
6,458 |
7,339 |
10,692 |
11,976 |
Ore Tonnes Mined |
000 t |
1,048 |
1,180 |
802 |
767 |
Strip Ratio |
W:O |
6.2:1 |
6.2:1 |
13.3:1 |
15.7:1 |
Average Gold Grade Mined |
g/t |
1.5 |
1.8 |
1.5 |
1.3 |
Ore Treated |
000 t |
887 |
862 |
1,087 |
1,269 |
Gold Feed Grade |
g/t |
1.7 |
1.9 |
1.5 |
1.3 |
Gold Recovery |
% |
94 |
94 |
94 |
93 |
Gold Produced |
oz |
46,017 |
49,293 |
51,550 |
48,229 |
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Sales and LiquidityGold
production for the quarter was 48,229 ounces with gold sales of
48,899 ounces at an average realized price of US$1,314 per ounce,
generating gold sales revenue of US$64.2 million. At March 31, 2018
the Company’s balance sheet held approximately US$38.9 million in
unaudited cash, US$0.8 million in gold receivables and US$3.5
million in dore (with a market value of US$5.3 million).
Qualified Person StatementFrederik Fourie,
Asanko Senior Mining Engineer (Pr.Eng) is the Asanko Qualified
Person, as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101
(Standards of Mineral Disclosure), who has approved the preparation
of the technical contents of this news release.
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Q1 2018 Operating & Financial Results
Conference Call & Webcast at 9am ET on Thursday, May 10,
2018 |
US/Canada Toll Free: |
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800 768 3232 |
UK Toll Free: |
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0800 496 0830 |
International: |
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+ 1 212 271 4651 |
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Webcast: |
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Please click on the link:
https://cc.callinfo.com/r/1rmbvkh4ab6mf&eom |
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Replay: |
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A recorded playback will be available approximately two
hours after the call until June 9, 2018: |
US/Canada Toll Free: |
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800 633 8284 |
International: |
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+1 402 977 9140 |
Passcode: |
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21887966 |
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About Asanko Gold Inc.Asanko’s vision is to
become a mid-tier gold mining company that maximizes value for all
its stakeholders. The Company’s flagship project is the
multi-million ounce Asanko Gold Mine located in Ghana, West
Africa.
Asanko is managed by highly skilled and
successful technical, operational and financial professionals. The
Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for
environmental management, social responsibility, and health and
safety for its employees and neighbouring communities.
Forward-Looking and other Cautionary
InformationThis release includes certain statements that
may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this
release, other than statements of historical facts, that address
estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals,
possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are
forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions,
such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of
future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the
conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses, the
timely renewal of key permits, lower than expected grades and
quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the
lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be
available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The
Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining
business as well as general economic and business conditions. For
more information on the Company, Investors should review the
Company's Annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities
Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
Neither Toronto Stock Exchange nor the
Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Enquiries:
For further information please visit: www.asanko.com, email: info@asanko.com or contact:
Alex Buck - Manager, Investor and Media Relations
Toll-Free (N.America): 1-855-246-7341
Telephone: +44-7932-740-452
Email: alex.buck@asanko.com
Rob Slater – Executive, Corporate Development and Strategy
Telephone: +27-11-467-2758
Email: rob.slater@asanko.com
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