The Syama Project is found on the northern margin of the Achaean-Proterozoic Leo Shield which forms the southern half of the West African Craton. The project area straddles the boundary between the Kadiana–Madinani terrane and the Kadiolo terrane. The Kadiana-Madinani terrane is dominated by greywackes and a narrow belt of interbedded basalt and argillite. The Kadiolo terrane comprises polymictic conglomerate and sandstone that were sourced from the Kadiana-Madinani terrane and deposited in a late- to syntectonic basin.

Prospects are centred on the NNE striking, west dipping, Syama-Bananso Fault Zone and Birimian volcano-sedimentary units of the Syama Formation. The major commodity being sought is gold.

The Tabakoroni deposit is hosted in upright tightly folded greenstone rocks of the Syama Formation, comprising interbedded basalt and sediment units, and an overlying complex sequence of deep marine and turbiditic sediments. The sequence overlying the basalts contains interbedded carbonaceous units (silts and shales) that are preferentially deformed, and which form the Tabakoroni Main Shear Zone (TMSZ) that lies along the approximate contact of the greenstone-sediment sequence. Gold mineralisation occurs within the TMSZ associated with quartz vein stockworks and stylolitic quartz reefs.

The Tabakoroni Porphyry Zone is located on a NNE trending splay of the NNW oriented Main Tabakoroni Shear Zone. Host rocks are comprised of interbedded greywack ........

Syama is a large-scale operation which comprises two separate processing plants: a 2.4Mtpa sulphide processing circuit (ore sourced from the Syama Underground Mine) and a 1.5Mtpa oxide processing circuit (ore sourced from the Tabakoroni Open Pit Mine and near-mine oxide deposits).

Syama Gold Mine
The current mining method for underground exploitation is Sub-level caving.

Tabakoroni
A Pre-Feasibility study determined the Tabakoroni mining method would be by long hole open stoping. No Mineral Resource margin (external) dilution has been modelled. A minimum stope dip of 30 degrees on the footwall was applied. More rigorous mining assumptions and parameters will be applied during the conversion to Ore Reserves.

Long hole open stoping is considered the most suitable mining method to extract the underground deposit. Long term support will be providing by backfilling the stopes with cemented paste in the main mineralised zone, create by adding binder to a large supply of highly weathered oxide waste already available on site from the previous open pit mines. Shallower dipping zones in the competent basalt zones will also use open stoping with pillars, where appropriate.

Minimum Mining Width used was 3.0m, but average stoping widths range between 4.5m and 10.0m. Level spacings are selected at 20m vertical, floor to floor. Stope lengths of 10m to 50m are recommended based on the geotechnical modelling and chosen level spacing. The ........

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Resolute operates two processing plants at Syama: a 2.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) sulphide processing circuit and a 1.5Mtpa oxide processing circuit. Due to the refractory nature of the sulphide ore, it is treated using conventional three-stage crushing, ball milling, sulphide flotation, roasting, calcine leaching and elution. The oxide processing circuit is a conventional crushing, SAG milling, and leaching circuit.

Processing of the ore is via the following stages:
• Crushing and grinding.
• Flotation to produce a sulphide rich concentrate.
• Concentrate thickening.
• Roasting, followed by calcine quench and wash.
• CIL.
• Tailings disposal.

Processing of Tabakoroni ore is similar to that of the Syama sulphide circuit which has been in operation for several years and is well understood, consisting of the following stages:

• Crushing and grinding utilising the existing oxide process plant infrastructure
• Gravit ........