Semafo sees expansion at pits in Guinea

A reassessment of the pits at the Kiniero mine in northern Guinea has boosted mineral reserves for Montreal-based Semafo (SMF-T).

Based on a gold price of US$308 per oz. and updated mill recovery and mine dilution factors, reserves at the end of 2002 were 36% higher than a year earlier.

The increase occurred despite the production of 42,005 oz. gold from 295,919 tonnes averaging 5.42 grams gold per tonne during the first nine months of operation. The mine, formerly called Jean-Gobele, began production in April 2002.

At the end of 2002, Kiniero’s reserve stood at 1.3 million tonnes grading 5.56 grams gold, equivalent to 229,000 contained ounces. Measured and indicated resources amounted to 3.5 million tonnes running 3.66 grams, or 410,000 contained ounces — a 23% increase over year-earlier estimates.

Semafo attributes the increase to the inclusion of the Gobele-C and D structures in the recent model. The estimates employ a cutoff grade of 0.7 gram gold per tonne for the oxide ore and 4 grams for the sulphide ore. All high assays were cut to 30 grams gold.

Meanwhile, on the Mana property in Burkina Faso, three rounds of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling have managed to boost indicated resources on both the Wona and Nyafe mineralized structures. The two are now estimated to hold 4.8 million tonnes grading 4.71 grams per tonne, or 733,000 oz., up from 470,000 oz. at the end of 2001. The estimate includes material in an envelope defined by drill intersections (100 metres apart) running at least 2 grams over 3 metres.

Ongoing diamond and RC drilling on the 2.5-km-long Wona deposit is aimed at closing up the drill spacing there to 50 by 25 metres. The drilling is also aimed at boosting tonnage in preparation for an internal feasibility study.