The mine life extension was noted as part of an updated technical report for the mine, which views a post-tax IRR of 43% and NPV5% of US$392 million at US$1,703/oz Au.
The measured and indicated mineral resources have been increased to 2.29 million oz and are further classified as 1.92 million oz of mineral reserves, Asante said.
Asante's president and CEO Dave Anthony noted that the company continues to work to capture opportunities for "significant" upside at Bibiani and anticipates extending the open pit mine life.
The company also plans to start an underground mine design project during the fourth quarter of this year, with a view of commencing underground operations in 2024.
"These exploration, design and production initiatives are not considered in the 2022 Technical Report," Anthony noted.
Other key aspects of the 2022 technical report, highlighted by Asante, included:
- Measured + Indicated Mineral Resources of 31.57MT at 2.25g/t Au (2.29 Moz) and Inferred Mineral Resources of 4.02Mt at 2.75 g/t Au (0.355 Moz)
- Cash costs US$823/oz
- AISC US$1,222/oz
- Payback Period of 2.0 years
"Recently, we announced a forward gold financing agreement that will account for less than 30% of the next 12 months expected gold production at Bibiani. This agreement puts the company on solid financial footing as we move forward," Anthony said.
Asante's share price was C$1.28 (US$0.99) on July 20. The company has a market capitalization of C$403.25 million.
The current plan for Bibiani is to ramp up production to 220,000oz/y for year two, and 200,000-255,000oz/y for years three to eight.
