Akobo Minerals, the gold exploration company working along the Akobo river in southwestern Ethiopia has awarded the metallurgical test work contract at its Segele project to Peacocke and Simpson, the Zimbabwean mineral processing company.
The company said this is "an important step in preparations to start mining at the project and involves a series of laboratory tests to determine which series of equipment will most efficiently extract the gold from the mineralization."
The nature of gold deposits varies greatly in complexity, which calls for a careful selection of extraction equipment for each deposit, Akobo Minerals elaborated.
So far, a bulk sample of over 200 kg containing "abundant visible gold from three new drill holes" has been sent for the gold metallurgical test work at Peacocke and Simpson's laboratory.
As soon as the test results arrive, which will be within weeks, Akobo said they will proceed to plant design.
Jørgen Evjen, Akobo's CEO, said the metallurgical test work forms a critical part of pre-feasibility studies and that the miner is accelerating mining studies ahead of schedule.
“We are very positive about the results of the scoping study and the pre-feasibility study is likely to give us a very solid footing on which to predict cash flow. Additionally, we are pleased with the performance of the Midroc contract drill rig and excited to see the intersections as we explore the Segele mineralization ever deeper. It is of course always encouraging to see visible gold from the three test holes drilled for this purpose,” Mr. Evjen remarked.
The CEO said Peacocke and Simpson has been selected based on the basis of their long history of working on similar projects throughout Africa.
Ethiopia had obtained $681 million from mining in the recently concluded fiscal year and aims to increase the figure to $1.5 billion this year. It is to be recalled that a week prior, KEFI secured $356 million in financing for gold mining in Ethiopia.
Source: Mining Weekly
