Etruscan's Youga Gold Ore Mining
Etruscan Resources Inc. (EET.TSX) reported that its Youga Gold Mine in Burkina Faso, West Africa is advancing on schedule with commissioning of the mill scheduled to commence during June 2007.
The Youga Gold Mine is located approximately 180 kilometers southeast of the capital city of Ouagadougou and near the border with northern Ghana. The Youga Mine is comprised of open pit mining from five pits with the ore being processed through a conventional carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant having a design capacity of one million tonnes per annum. Mineable reserves are 6.6 million tonnes with an average grade of 2.7 grams per tonne containing 580,000 ounces of gold. The Mine is owned and operated by Burkina Mining Company SA (BMC) which is 90% owned by Etruscan and 10% by the State of Burkina Faso.
Youga Development Update
Construction management services for the construction of the CIL processing plant are being provided by GBM Projects Limited of the United Kingdom. Site preparation and concrete work is well advanced and the installation of the seven CIL tanks is complete. Piping for the 11 kilometer raw water line is on site and installation is ongoing. The grinding mill, which was shipped from Canada, was delivered to site in December and the 460 m3 concrete foundation has recently been completed. Cement, rebar, sand and aggregate are being sourced and purchased locally in Burkina Faso. The structural steel for the mill is being fabricated in Morocco with the first shipment having now arrived on site. The tailings dam design has been completed and the area cleared in preparation for the placement of the tailings wall. The mining and drill/blast contractors are mobilizing equipment and personnel to site this month. The mine camp, main office, medical complex, plant stores and work shop buildings are well advanced. There are approximately 300 construction personnel on site.
Electrical power for the Youga Gold Mine is to be supplied by the Burkina Faso power utility, Sonabel SA, under a power supply contract with the Ghanaian power utility, Volta River Authority (VRA). Full on site back up power generation capacity (8 megawatts) will be provided via diesel generators. The diesel generators will ensure that milling operations continue uninterrupted should there be any periodic load shedding by the VRA during the summer months as occurred last year. The power plant is being supplied and commissioned by SDMO of France, a leading supplier of industrial power solutions, at a cost of approximately US$3 million. The power plant will be shipped to site by the end of April and commissioned the following month.
Article Sources:
http://www.etruscan.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=173421&_Title=Etruscans-Youga-Gold-Mine-On-Schedule-for-June-2007-Commissioning