Cora Gold Ltd (LON:CORA), the West African focused gold company, has announced the results of recent metallurgical test work undertaken with a view to achieving process flow sheet optimisation at its flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in south Mali. The objective of the test work has been to identify improvements to the processing flow sheet and, as a consequence, reduce operating costs over the life of mine. These efforts form part of Cora’s ongoing strategy to enhance project economics through operational efficiency.
The 2022 Definitive Feasibility Study planned for all gold bearing ore to pass through a ball mill. The results of the metallurgical test work have confirmed that a scrubbing circuit can now be effectively integrated upstream of the ball mill, reducing the size of the required ball mill and with expected positive implications predominantly around power consumption over the life of mine. These results form part of the ongoing exercise of updating the 2022 DFS, to optimise the flow sheet and the overall mine plan at Sanankoro. The Company will continue to look for further optimisation opportunities in the Project. Any improvements that cannot be included in the upcoming updated DFS will be incorporated during the follow-on Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) stage, leading into construction.
The ongoing work to update the 2022 DFS, including updated Probable Reserves, continues to progress well and is due to be completed during Q3 2025.
Bert Monro, Chief Executive Officer of Cora Gold, commented, “Our focus at Sanankoro is on expediting the Project to mine construction phase. Multiple work programmes are underway in support of this, and we are pleased this optimisation test work has identified another potential positive for the Project. The 2022 DFS based on a US$1,750 gold price showed a +50% IRR so further operational improvements coupled with a significantly higher gold price is an exciting prospect. This two-stage processing plan will feed into the updated DFS currently being completed, which we look forward to sharing the results of in Q3 2025.”
Further Information:
The results of the test work confirmed a two-stage processing strategy would be optimal for gold recovery at Sanankoro:
1. Fine material (<1 mm focussing on <0.212 mm) responds well to drum scrubbing, which is effective in liberating gold from the softer, clay-bound ore at Sanankoro. As a result, this fraction can potentially bypass the milling stage and proceed directly to leaching, thereby reducing energy consumption, increasing overall throughput for finer material, and preventing potential over-grinding of finer material.
2. Coarse material (>1 mm) to proceed to the ball mill for grinding to achieve optimal liberation for carbon-in-leach (‘CIL’) processing.
This two-stage strategy is well-proven for saprolite/oxide gold systems in Africa, especially where clay content is high and gold occurs in both liberated fines and embedded in quartz, as is the case with Sanankoro. This recovery process was not included in the 2022 DFS but will be incorporated into the updated DFS currently being completed. It offers the potential for a reduced power requirement for processing and downsized mill requirement (given that only the coarse fraction will need milling), which alongside an enhanced +1-million-ounce Mineral Resource Estimate and strengthened gold price is expected to significantly enhance the commercial value of Sanankoro since the 2022 DFS.
