MIDROC Gold PLC., an Ethiopian gold mining company, announced it will start producing gold at Sakaro, in Juji Zone of Oromia State, according to The Reporter.

MIDROC discovered a primary gold deposit estimated to be 20,483 Kg at Sakaro in 2008 and has been undertaking feasibility study since then. And it was in November 2009 MIDROC signed a 10 years agreement with the Ministry of Mines (MoM) to extract the 20,483 Kg of gold.

Managing Director of Technology and Projects at MIDROC, Girmay Gebre, during a two day workshop organized by the MoM commented his company will start producing gold at the Sakaro mine. He added “A gold exploration project takes a long time and it is capital intensive”. Girmay further noted it will also take a long time to recover the cost.

MDROC has found a new gold deposit in the Jilay locality, Metekel – Benshangul State. MIDROC has started exploration activity in Metekel in 2004 over 2,292 square meters of land, according to Girmay.

MIDROC has spent 200 Million Birr on the exploration project and latter in 2011 discovered a gold deposit of 33 Tons. Currently a feasibility study is being undertaken by the company and it is expected to be finalized in December 2014.

Prior to Sakaro MIDROC has another gold mine three kilometers from the new mine were it produces gold. The old mine is known by the name Lega Dembi mine and MIDROC started mining there after it bought the mine in 1998 from the Ethiopian government through the privatization program.

Source: The Reporter