Modern Mining January 2018

MINING News

Metallon Corporation sells its Arcturus gold mine

Metallon Corporation, the gold mining, development and exploration company with producing assets in Zimbabwe, has sold its Arcturus mine. The mine, which has a gold resource of 1 Moz with explora- tion potential, was placed under care and maintenance in Q1 2016 with mining oper- ations suspended due to consistent losses. Arcturus is located 30 km east of Harare and is one of the oldest gold mines in Zimbabwe, with production having started over a century ago. Comments Ken Mekani, Chief Executive Officer of Metallon: “Metallon is pleased to announce the sale of Arcturus Mine to TN Securities, a Zimbabwean investment company. Metallon has four operating mines and over 8 million ounces of gold resources. The sale of Arcturus mine is in line with Metallon’s strategy to priori- tise our investments, focus resources and reduce costs. “The transaction provides the mine, which was on care and maintenance, with

Metallon has sold its Arcturus mine, seen here, to a Zimbabwean company (photo: Metallon).

have taken the decision to sell the mine to a Zimbabwean company in order to empower local investors. “As the leading gold mining company in Zimbabwe and a significant employer, Metallon is committed to operating and investing in Zimbabwe.” 

the opportunity for the resumption of operations, leading to job creation and increased gold output for the country. Arcturus is a robust asset with a significant gold resource and Metallon received offers from a number of potential investors, both from within Zimbabwe and abroad. We

Avesoro Resources turns in a strong performance Avesoro Resources Inc, the TSX- and AIM- listed West African gold producer, has announced production of 54 407 ounces of gold for the fourth quarter (to 31 December 2017) and 192 072 ounces of gold for the full year, across the three mines now owned by the company.

its revised guidance for the year. I would like to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of the New Liberty team throughout 2017 that enabled us to achieve record annual gold production. Q4 2017 was New Liberty’s strongest quarterly performance to date, driven by improved mining perfor- mance and increased plant throughput. “The acquisition of Youga and Balogo in December 2017 adds two low-cost oper- ating mines to our portfolio capable of generating significant free cash flow for the company. I am particularly pleased that we were able to complete this trans- action during 2017 and take an important step towards realising our stated plan of becoming a premier mid-tier African gold producer.” 

a 20 % increase on 2016 production levels. The Youga and Balogo mines in Burkina Faso, which were acquired by the company on 18 December 2017, produced 28 845 ounces of gold in the quarter, result- ing in strong full year total production of 115 893 ounces of gold, ahead of company forecasts. Serhan Umurhan, Chief Executive Officer of Avesoro, commented:“We are pleased to report a strong quarter and combined total production for 2017 of 192 072 ounces of gold from the three mines now owned by the company. At New Liberty, the year has been focused on the now completed turn- around resulting in the company meeting

Fourth quarter production from the New Liberty mine in Liberia was 25 563 ounces of gold, a 29 % increase on the previous quarter and in line with guidance provided at the time of the Q3 production update. The strong quarter resulted in record full year production from the mine of 76 179 ounces of gold, towards the upper end of Avesoro’s guidance range and representing

January 2018  MODERN MINING  9