Sikaman’s Goldenrae plant in Ghana set to produce

A new process plant for the Goldenrae gold mining project in Ghana, West Africa, is in operation, Sikaman Gold Resources (TSE) reports.

The company says the contractor, IHC of Holland, is to complete commissioning trials by mid-October, after which commercial production at a rate of 29 million cu. ft. (840,000 cubic metres) per year will commence. The US$2.75-million floating washplant is expected to produce 15,000-18,000 oz. per year at less than US$180 per oz. Sikaman says a second smaller plant, expected to be ordered this autumn, could be in operation by mid-1993, boosting annual output by 10,000 oz.

Current reserves will provide a minimum 10-year mining life; the acquisition of new properties is being pursued. Sikaman has a 25% interest in the $17-million Goldenrae operation.

Meanwhile, Sikaman says that a 3-month pilot-test program is under way at its Snow Lake gold tailings project in Manitoba. Funding for the pilot test is being shared 55% by Sikaman and 45% by the federal government agency CANMET (Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology).