Modern Mining February 2017

MINING News

Lucapa’s bid for Mothae proves successful The Mothae diamond project in Lesotho.

in the advanced Lulo kimberlite project and the earlier stage Brooking and Orapa Area F projects. “There is only one thing better than owning one diamond mine that pro- duces large high value diamonds – and that is owning two. Mothae is a fantas- tic diamond asset, located in a cluster of operating diamond mines in Lesotho and just 5 km from Gem Diamonds’ Letšeng mine, which is the highest average dol- lar per carat hard rock diamond mine in the world. Similar to Lulo in Angola, the Mothae kimberlite pipe hosts large pre- mium-value and Type IIa diamonds.” Wetherall further stated that Lucapa’s widespread diamond mining experience and recent success in developing the Lulo mine – which delivered the highest price per carat run of mine diamond production in the world in 2016 – were key factors in its successful bid for Mothae. The Mothae diamond resource is supported by extensive trial mining, drilling programmes and geological mod- elling conducted between 2008 and 2012. During this time, 31 bulk samples totalling 603 000 tonnes were extracted and pro- cessed from various locations and depths in three phases. From these samples, a total of 23 446 carats of diamonds was recovered at an average grade of 3,88 carats per 100 tonnes (cpht) using a bottom cut-off size of -2 mm. The diamonds recovered included 96 stones weighing more than 10 carats. The gem-quality Mothae diamonds were

The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (GOL) has awarded the advanced Mothae kimberlite project to ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company following a competitive international tender process. Mothae has a NI143-101 indicated and inferred resource of 1 million carats. The agreements signed by the GOL and Lucapa will see Lucapa acquiring a 70 % interest in the project. The acquisition price is US$9 million (which compares with historical development spending on the project of approximately US$36 million). Infrastructure and facilities at Mothae include accommodation and site offices,

workshops, a processing plant, a tailings storage facility, fresh water dams and diesel-generated power. Lucapa’s Managing Director, Stephen Wetherall, said he was delighted that Lucapa’s proposal to acquire and develop the highly sought-after Mothae project had been selected as the successful bid by the GOL. “This acquisition is in keeping with Lucapa’s stated strategy of continued growth as a diamond producer and explorer. Mothae complements the pro- ducing high-value Lulo diamond mine and our highly prospective exploration assets ous years. Exploration spend throughout 2017 is forecast to total US$5 million and be focused upon discovering additional mine- able near mine satellite deposits. Commenting, Serhan Umurhan, Chief Executive Officer of Avesoro Resources, said: “In 2017 we aim to continue ongoing optimisation of the processing and mining operations and to also improve the produc- tion profile at New Liberty whilst reducing the cost of production. We remain commit- ted to our disciplined approach to capital allocation, and enhancing the mine life of New Liberty through a near mine explora- tion programme that will commence during Q1 2017 and will be focused on finding additional mineable satellite deposits.” 

Avesoro Resources provides guidance for 2017 Avesoro Resources Inc (previously Aureus Mining), the TSX- and AIM-listed West African gold producer, has announced annual production guidance for 2017 of 90 000 to 100 000 ounces of gold at a cash cost of US$750 to US$800 per ounce of gold produced and an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$925 to US$975 per ounce of gold produced from its New Liberty Gold Mine in Liberia.

Capital expenditure in 2017 is forecast to be approximately US$24 million, com- prising US$10 million of non-sustaining capital allocated to enhance operations and US$14 million of sustaining capital, a signifi- cant portion of which is non-recurring and relates to expenditure deferred from previ-

6  MODERN MINING  February 2017