Modern Mining March 2019

MINING News

New CEO for Asanko Gold

by-product credits, is US$1,47/lb at con- sensus pricing and US$1,67/lb including sustaining capex, and before accounting for the silver stream. With financial close expected early in the second quarter of 2019 and a two-year construction timeline, the Starter Project is forecast to produce first concentrate beginning in the first half of 2021. Johan Ferreira, CEO of the company, commented:“Securing the Project Funding package by partnering with two of the industry’s leading global providers of mine finance, Royal Gold and Red Kite, allows us to move forward energetically with all project development activities. This step marks the completion of a remarkable evolution of the company from discovery of Zone 5 in 2012 to full construction of a high-quality copper asset in 2019. “Being able to commence the devel- opment of a large scale fully mechanised mine and deliver high-quality jobs and sustainable development in the Kalahari Copper Belt reflects not only the quality of the mining environment in Botswana but also the strong support of Government towards foreign investment and newmine development.” The company’s short-term plan is to achieve safe, reliable production from the Starter Project. The long-term plan is to expand Khoemacau to approximately 5,8 Mt/a by constructing a new standalone process plant at Zone 5. A pre-feasibility study was completed on the Expansion Project in 2015, and the company intends advancing this to a definitive feasibility study and then full engineering for this in conjunction with the construction of the Starter Project. The Expansion Project is expected to produce approximately 100 000 tonnes of copper per annum. 

Asanko Gold Inc, listed on the TSX and NYSE American, has announced the appointment of Greg McCunn as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Asanko with effect fromApril 1, 2019. Peter Breese, current President and CEO, will transition to the newly created position of President and Chief Operating Officer, reporting to McCunn, and will remain a Director of the company. McCunn, who was previously with Asanko as CFO from 2011 to 2017, will lead the implementation of the company’s corporate strategy and the executive team from Asanko’s head office in Vancouver. Breese will remain responsible for the operations of the company’s flagship Asanko Gold Mine (AGM) in Ghana and maintain oversight on the large scale Esaase development programme. He will also oversee the company’s technical team in its Johannesburg project office. Commenting on the announcement, Breese said: “I am very pleased to be work- ing with Greg again as we seek to grow and expand our company for the ben- efit of all our stakeholders. Greg’s in-depth knowledge of the business, the country, our values and processes will make this a seamless transition.” “I’m excited to be reuniting with Peter and the leadership teams at Asanko,” said McCunn. “When we created Asanko in 2013, our vision was to use the Asanko Gold Mine as a platform to build a mid- tier gold producer. With the operations performing well and the balance sheet strong, the company is well positioned to take the next important steps to execute this vision.” McCunn has over 25 years’ experience

Greg McCunn.

in finance, operations, project engineer- ing, project construction and corporate development. Most recently he served as CEO of Alio Gold Inc, a junior gold mining company with operations in Mexico and Nevada. Prior to his earlier time at Asanko, he served as the CFO for Farallon Mining. During his tenure with Farallon, the com- pany financed, constructed and operated the G-9 mine in Guerrero, Mexico. Farallon was sold to Nyrstar in early 2011. McCunn is a Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering and a Masters degree in Business Administration. 

March 2019  MODERN MINING  9