TRX Gold Corporation has provided an update on the progress of the larger Buckreef Gold mine expansion project. Ongoing work on several fronts will allow the company to increase the currently producing Buckreef Gold Mine to a substantial operation.
Update Highlights
- The two consultants, the geology, engineering, and rock mechanics experts SGS Canada and Terrane Geoscience have been on-site at the Buckreef Gold project site for the past four weeks to finish their fieldwork and drill hole studies. Geotechnical characterization has been underway. This effort will, in the near future, aid in pit slope optimization to improve the mining plan and decrease waste rock mining.
- Studies on the metallurgical variability for the project’s subsequent five to seven years have advanced. SGS in South Africa has already received the drill core from a total of 18 metallurgical holes that totaled 2,367 m throughout the entire strike of the Buckreef Main deposit for metallurgical testing. The findings from these experiments will help the Buckreef team determine which processing flowsheet is the most effective, efficient, and lucrative for the larger project in the mid-to-long term. This work will assist in determining if sulfide ore material can be processed through Buckreef Gold’s current processing facility in the near future. Future Technical Reports and economic analyses will fully reflect the findings of this work
- In the next weeks, the company plans to announce drill results from the Anfield and Eastern Porphyry zones
The Company is committed to growing its Buckreef Gold Mine into a significant operation. Therefore, I am pleased to inform the market of the successful completion of SGSC - Terrane Geosciences geotechnical fieldwork, and the dispatch of the 18-hole metallurgical samples to SGS in South Africa for variability analysis. Both pieces of work are cornerstones for the larger project development and help set the stage for the next big growth phase.
Stephen Mullowney, Chief Executive Officer, TRX Gold Corporation
The metallurgical drilling’s highlights included the following:
- Hole BMMT015 intersected 28.0 m grading @ 10.68 g/t Au from 0 m
- Hole BMMT020 intersected 123.0 m grading @ 2.69 g/t Au from 3 m
- Hole BMMT009 intersected 121.0 m grading @ 2.96 g/t Au from 3 m
- Hole BMMT022 intersected 106.0 m grading @ 4.19 g/t Au from 85 m, 77 m grading @ 3.09 g/t from 241 m
- Hole BMMT021 intersected 90.0 m grading @ 1.56 g/t Au from 139 m
Results from the geotechnical and metallurgical programs should be available by the end of Q4 2023.
The Buckreef Gold property consists of a 16 km2 land package that is situated along the prosperous Lake Victoria Greenstone Belt in the Geita region of Tanzania, about 110 km from the city of Mwanza and 45 km to the west of the Bulyanhulu gold mine, which will produce 196,000 oz in 2022 for Barrick Gold, and nearly 35 km south of the Geita mine, which will produce 521,000 oz in 2022 for AngloGold Ashanti.
The Buckreef Gold Mine has completed two mill expansions in the previous 12 months since it began operations in late 2021. Due to its high margin, open-pit nature, Buckreef Gold is anticipated to produce between 20,000 and 25,000 ounces in 2023 at total average cash costs of $750 to $850 per ounce.
The TRX Gold team is now constructing a third mill expansion that will double the existing processing capacity and increase the number of ounces produced in fiscal 2024.
The long-term goal of the aforementioned Buckreef Mine Development Project is to expand the Buckreef Gold mining operation into a substantial gold producer in Tanzania.