Modern Mining October 2022

GOLD

Shanta Gold eyes 250 000 oz producer

East-African gold miner Shanta Gold, which presently produces 75 000 oz pa from its flagship New Luika Gold Mine in Southwestern Tanzania, is eyeing further precious ounces from its Singida gold mine currently under construction and its exploration asset, West Kenya project, in the next five years, CEO Eric Zurrin tells Modern Mining . By Nelendhre Moodley .

A longside its Tanzanian assets, the New Luika Gold Mine (New Luika) and the Singida Gold Project, Shanta Gold acquired the high-grade West Kenya Project in Kenya, in 2020. “We currently produce 75 000 ozpa from New Luika Gold Mine with Singida scheduled to add 30 000 – 35 000 oz annualized beginning next year when the mine comes into production, which brings the total to 110 000 ozpa. But, we believe the West Kenya project – our third asset – will be a game changer, which will add a further 100-150 000 oz to annual production. This is part of our five-year play book, which targets the collective production of up to 250 000 oz per annum.” Although the East African miner has been a con sistent gold producer for the past ten years, Zurrin notes that its assets are undervalued and plans, over the next few years, to take its projects up the value curve to demonstrate the inherent value of its portfolio. “We believe our assets have the potential of five times their future value. The good news is that this provides us with a huge opportunity to unlock the value in what we already own.” New Luika – Shanta’s bedrock and springboard to growth The AIM-listed entity’s New Luika gold mine is the

“We believe our assets have the potential of five times their future value. The good news is that this provides us with a huge opportunity to unlock the value in what we already own.”

Shanta Gold’s New Luika operations.

cornerstone of the miner’s portfolio with its pro duction and revenue generation underpinning the company’s growth aspirations while offering options for new opportunities beyond the project’s own growth. The New Luika mine – Tanzania’s fourth largest gold mine – commenced production in 2012 and in July this year extended the life of mine to 2027. Since 2017, the company has been upgrading

Metso-manufactured crushing circuit at Singida.

the reserve and resource base through its exploration initiatives with the aim of extending the mine life. According to Zurrin, New Luika’s mining licence hosts ten separate deposits which allow the miner to expand its resource-base. “The New Luika resource consists of ten separate deposits and each of these collectively contributes to a consolidated mine plan. However, it is important to note that each one of those deposits has its own indi vidual exploration potential, and over the next few

14  MODERN MINING  October 2022