Mako Gold Mine in eastern Senegal reported good performance for the year 2018, as Toro Gold stated in a statement
The first gold pour achieved in January 2018 was ahead of schedule, under budget and safely. About 156,926oz of gold was produced, 17 per cent above the forecast and 1.8mn tonnes of ore processed at 2.94g/t Au.
Martin Horgan, CEO of Toro Gold, said, “We continue to meet our Environmental and Social commitments and are working in close collaboration with local communities – we are delighted to note that some 90 per cent of the workforce are Senegalese and more than 60 per cent is from the local Kedougou region. In parallel with our social programmes, conservation work in respect of the Niokola-Koba National Park has progressed well in conjunction with our partners at the Senegalese National Parks Department and NGO Panthera.”
While significant predevelopment studies focussed on the hard and abrasive nature of the ore and its implications for the comminution circuit, performance over the period was favourable to budget with better than planned wear liner life and a reduction in total power used. Process recoveries also performed well with higher metallurgical recoveries in excess of 95 per cent achieved against the budgeted recoveries of 91.8 per cent.
About 15,000m core drilling programme was completed during the year which targeted mineralisation beneath the current pit to investigate the potential to extend the open pit life through the exploration of the main mineralised lode beneath the current final pit design.
The year 2019 is expected to see the commencement of stage 6 final cut back with a commensurate increase in stripping compared to 2018.
