Modern Mining September 2016

MINING News

Manroc awarded underground mining contract for Prestea

Golden Star Resources (GSR), listed on the NYSE MKT, the TSX, and the GSE, has appointed Manroc Developments Inc as the underground mining contractor for its Prestea underground gold mine in Ghana (‘Prestea Underground’). Manroc was selected following a com- petitive bid process involving a number of large mining contractors. The company specialises in Alimak stoping, a mecha- nised shrinkage mining method, and has a reputation for safety and efficiency. It has worked on major projects on a variety of continents and its clients have included Barrick Gold, Goldcorp Inc and Nyrstar. Manroc has previously operated in Ghana and Tanzania. Alimak stoping was selected as the mining method for Prestea due to its safety and efficiency benefits over con- ventional shrinkage mining. Members of Golden Star’s technical team at Prestea Underground have experience of using Alimak mining techniques at the Myra Falls mine in British Columbia, Canada and the Musselwhite mine in Ontario, Canada. Prestea Underground is a narrow, high

grade deposit, with mineral reserves of 1,0 Mt at 14,02 g/t for 469 000 ounces and substantial exploration upside potential. Golden Star is expected to commence development of the Prestea Underground orebody during Q4 2016 and Manroc is expected to mobilise its fleet to site during the same quarter. “ The de ve l opmen t o f Pr e s t e a Underground is progressing well and the appointment of a mining contractor is the next important step,” comments Sam Coetzer, President and CEO of Golden Star. “We remain on track to bring Prestea Underground into production inmid-2017, which will be a significant milestone for Golden Star as it is expected to increase our production rate and further reduce our cash operating costs. The mine is one of the highest grade development projects in West Africa and has a strong history, with approximately 9 million ounces of gold production during the past century. The work to upgrade Prestea’s infrastructure is continuing well and we are excited about the potential upside of the deposit’s min- eral reserves.” 

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GSR personnel at Prestea. The mine ranks as one of the oldest in Ghana and its infrastructure includes vertical and inclined shafts, horizontal development, raises and stopes developed along the 9 km of strike length of the gold mineralisation (photo: GSR).

September 2016  MODERN MINING  9