Ann: Quarterly Activities Report, page-3

Excellent Report, steady progress on all fronts, incremental optimizations / improvements and substantial progress on expansion of operations (exploration success and extension of mine of life already achieved for Mako, on-going for Syama expected H2 2020). Most important news for me is the improvement of both recovery rates (from 75% to 80%) and throughput (from 21.000 oz to 35.000 oz) for the syama sulphide operations. With higher gold prices and lower costs this is a winner and up from here.


Sulphide Operations
Gold production from the sulphide circuit increased by 64% in the quarter, improving on the 54% increase delivered in the previous quarter. The consistent improvement in quarterly gold production and overall recovery rates is shown below in Figure 1. Total gold poured was 35,248oz, compared to 21,430oz in the previous quarter.

The increase was driven by higher mill throughput (+21%), head grades (+8%) and improved recovery (+5%).

The improvement in sulphide processing performance continues the ramp up which commenced in the March quarter following the completion of repairs to the roaster in December 2019. Plant throughput increased as a result of extensive optimisation and modification work on the crushing and milling circuits, while recoveries reflected a similar process of optimisation in the operation of the flotation and leach circuits.

Overall sulphide circuit recovery was 80.0%, compared to 75.2% in the previous quarter. Recoveries are expected to remain above 80% for the remainder of 2020 as the Company pursues further incremental improvements towards the long-term target of 85% total recoveries.