| | | |
| |||
| |
| |    | | 
High River Gold Mines Ltd., through its Burkinabe subsidiary Société des Mines de Taparko (Somita SA), is currently constructing the first new gold mine in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The Taparko-Bouroum project is located 200 km northeast of the capital of Ouagadougou, with the Bouroum satellite deposit approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Taparko. The Taparko-Bouroum project area is located in a sparsely populated area and is accessible by both paved and gravel roads from Ouagadougou. The Taparko-Bouroum gold project is held by Somita SA, which is owned 90% by High River with the remaining 10% (carried) by the Government of Burkina Faso
Gold at Taparko occurs predominantly in quartz veins with low sulphide content within the northerly trending Taparko shear zone. The shear zone extends for more than 10 kilometres and dips 40° to 50° easterly. Gold mineralization has been found throughout the Taparko shear zone, but economic accumulations are restricted to a number of discrete zones known as the 3/5, GT, and 2N/2K. The three zones range from 400 m to 1.1 km in strike length, over a distance of five kilometers and extending to depths of over 150 metres. Gold at Bouroum also occurs in quartz veins with low sulphide content in a number of relatively small, structurally complex deposits of which the Bissinga, F-12 and Welcome Stranger zones have been shown to host economically exploitable accumulations. Gold mineralization in both areas is found in quartz veins and quartz vein selvages, and is also found in the shear zone itself where gold grades similar to the quartz vein mineralization occur. Gold is associated partly with sulphides, mainly pyrite, and is partly free.
The original discovery of gold at Taparko was made in 1980 by the Burkina Faso Government department of geology and mining (BUMIGEB). In 1987, initial exploration efforts were continued by Minorex, a Canadian consultant, which was subsequently requested to solicit expressions of interest from mining companies. In 1993, High River entered into an agreement with Incanore Resources Ltd. (Incanore) on the Taparko property, which led to the signing of a Mining Investment Agreement with the Government of Burkina Faso in January 1994 and its ratification by Parliament in May 1996. At that point, High River had a 61.5% interest, Incanore had 18.5% and the remaining 20% was held by the Government of Burkina Faso. In December 2000, Incanore Gold Mines Ltd. (successor to Incanore) was sold to Queenstake Resources Ltd. (Queenstake). Subsequently, in July 2002, High River acquired the Queenstake interest to increase its ownership to 80%. In August 2004, with the granting of the exploitation permit for Taparko, High River increased its interest to 90% in the project and the Government of Burkina Faso held a 10% carried interest. In May 2002, High River signed a Heads of Agreement with AXMIN Inc. (AXMIN), which held the Bouroum property under option from Channel Resources Ltd., to conduct a joint prefeasibility study and, if warranted, investigate the joint development and operation of the properties. In June 2004, High River purchased the Bouroum property for US $3.3 million. The Government of Burkina Faso issued the exploitation permit for the Bouroum property in June 2005.
From 1997 to 2002, several resource estimates (not compliant with NI 43-101) were prepared by recognized engineering firms on the two properties. During 2003, a feasibility study was initiated on the Taparko property by High River utilizing international consulting firms, including Steffen Robertson and Kirsten (Canada) Inc. (SRK) and Strathcona Mineral services Inc., and in-house engineering expertise to meet international standards as well as Burkina Faso regulatory and permitting requirements. As a part of this study, SRK conducted an audit of the mineral resources on the Taparko-Bouroum deposits. The database included in excess of 680 core and reverse circulation (RC) drill holes (>70% core) and 107 surface trenches for Taparko and 295 core and RC holes (>80% RC) for Bouroum. In November 2003, SRK reported a combined mineral reserve of 714,000 ounces of gold (7.61 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.92 g/t), using a gold price of US $350/oz.
The Company completed a bankable feasibility study on the combined Taparko-Bouroum properties in June 2004 (click on technical report June 2004
In May 2005, with gold prices increasing to over US $400 per ounce, the Company revised its mine plan to evaluate the impact of a higher gold price on project economics and the potential for extending the planned mine life. The study also incorporated revised costs for fuel, consumables and reagents. The results indicated an increase of 16% in gold reserves to 827,000 ounces (click on technical report May 2005
High River anticipates that it will be able to extend the mine life of the project by developing several known gold occurrences in the permit area and identifying additional sources within trucking distance of the plant facilities. Construction activities started at the end of 2004 and are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2007.
The processing facility will consist of a crushing and grinding circuit followed by a conventional gravity circuit, cyanidation circuit and carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant. The soft and clay rich ore will be fed directly to a tooth roll sizer (MMD) that will feed directly to the grinding circuit through a conveyor belt. The hard ore will be directed to a 3-stage crushing circuit (composed of a jaw crusher, screens and two cone crushers) and then fed, directly or blended with soft ore, into the grinding circuit. Tailings will be thickened and pumped to a closed lined tailings pond, which will assure "zero discharge" to the environment and promote maximum recirculation of the processed waters. The water for the processing plant will be pumped from a water storage dam having a maximum capacity of 2 million cubic metres, located 4.3 kilometres from the processing plant. A pipeline from a pump station at the Yalogo reservoir, approximately 9 kilometres away, supplies the storage dam using the overflow during the rainy season (June to September).
Somita SA will employ its own mining fleet and mine workforce for waste movement and ore mining. The project will employ a workforce of approximately 300 people, including a maximum of 25 expatriates, and engage contractors for the catering and security services. The on-site senior management team is French-speaking and has extensive work experience in West Africa. It is expected that at least 30% of the workforce will be staying at the modern camp facilities of the mine. The Company has already taken initiatives to encourage employment from adjacent communities. Somita's goal is to create a working environment that encourages the participation of young, educated Burkinabe at all levels of the Company. The Company's objective is to establish good relations with its employees by providing fair and competitive compensation, a secure working environment, on-site training programs, and an open dialogue. The Company promotes a culture of fully integrating health and safety into its normal business practice. The importance of health and safety in the workplace is emphasized through prevention programs and employees' involvement in understanding the value of safe working conditions.
| | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ©2005 High River Gold Mines Ltd. All Rights Reserved. | Disclaimer | Home  | |
)
), at which time High River proceeded with a development decision for the project.
