GoldStone Resources Ltd has been recommended an expansion of its mining lease for the Akrokeri-Homase (AKHM) gold project in South West Ghana.
The project already included the Homase South Pit and now covers the proposed Homase North and Homase Central pits and the expanded Homase South Pit with the increased mineable resource by 86,900 oz of gold at depth, representing a 257% increase on the previous estimate of 33,800 ounces of gold.
GoldStone said it could start operations immediately permits had been received and the first gold pour was estimated to be within the following two months.
The Ghanaian Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources made the recommendation which is now subject to ratification by the government’s relevant ministries.
The lease has been granted for an initial period of 10 years to coincide with the date of the award of the original mining lease on 14 February 2020.
GoldStone’s chief executive Emma Priestley said the company continued to work closely with the relevant Ghanaian ministerial bodies to finalise the grant of the requisite permits to enable open pit mining to commence at Homase South Pit.
GoldStone is also updating the definitive economic plan to demonstrates the viability for a low-cost mining operation.
At Homase South, the company has the majority of the processing plant including the pad HDPE lining system along with crushing, screening, agglomeration and conveying and stacking equipment, which has all been fully assembled and cold commissioned.
GoldStone has also received pumps, carbon in column columns, electrical control panels and 4 x 500 kVA diesel generators at site, ensuring operations will be protected from the risk of unstable electricity supply.