Modern Mining March 2018

GOLD

New Luika underground operation hits its stride

produced in May 2017 and commercial pro- duction was declared on 1 June 2017. “We’re very happy with the progress of the underground mine, which is now running at

The New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM) of AIM-listed Shanta Gold in south-west Tanzania has successfully transitioned to being a predominantly underground operation and is expected to produce between 82 000 and 88 000 ounces of gold in 2018 at an All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of US$680 to US$730 an ounce. Speaking to Modern Mining’s Arthur Tassell recently, Shanta’s CEO, Eric Zurrin, said that with the underground mine performing strongly and a period of high capital expenditure now largely behind the company, Shanta is on course to enjoy an excellent 2018.

C ommissioned in 2012, New Luika, which is located 120 km north- west of Mbeya, is the only modern, commercial-scale gold mine in the Lupa goldfield, which produced an estimated 650 000 ounces of gold between 1935 and 1959. Work on the underground proj- ect started in mid-2016 and in December 2016 Shanta announced that it had produced the first development ore. The first stope ore was

24  MODERN MINING  March 2018