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Ghana

Iduapriem Mine

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Iduapriem Mine

Location: 49 km NW from Takoradi, Ghana

Regional Office:

Gold House, Patrice Lumumba Road
PO Box 2665
Accra
Ghana

Contacts:

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Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Iduapriem mine is a multiple open pit operation that currently sources ore from the Block 5, Ajopa, and Blocks 7 and 8 pits.

Some 11km of exploration drilling were completed in 2023, focused on capitalised infill at Block 3 west and Block 4 to support the mine plan and add operational flexibility. The drilling programmes delivered good results that supported definition and expansion of the Mineral Resource.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
AngloGold Ashanti plc. 100 % Indirect
Iduapriem mine is owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti (Iduapriem) Limited, a company registered in Ghana. This entity is owned by AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Limited (AAGL). AAGL through AngloGold Ashanti Holdings plc is wholly owned by AngloGold Ashanti plc.

Contractors

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SourceSource

Deposit type

  • Conglomerate hosted

Summary:

Geology
Iduapriem mine is located within the Tarkwaian Group which forms part of the West African Craton that is covered to a large extent by metavolcanics and metasediments of the Birimian Supergroup. In Ghana, the Birimian terrane consists of northeastsouthwest trending volcanic belts separated by basins, and the Tarkwaian Group was deposited in these basins as shallow water deltaic sediments. The Tarkwaian lithologies are considered to represent the erosion products that accumulated following uplift and deformation of the underlying Birimian rocks during the Eburnean orogeny. The basins (grabens) are believed to have formed as a result of rifting, preferentially in the central parts of the Birimian volcanic belts. The Tarkwaian Group consists of a thick sequence of clastic metasedimentary rocks that have undergone low-grade regional metamorphism.

Deposit type
At Tarkwa, the entire Tarkwaian Group has been folded into a broad syncline and is locally referred to as the Tarkwa Syncline. The Banket Series Formation comprises a sequence of individual quartz pebble conglomerates (Banket beds), breccia conglomerates, and metasandstones (also called quartzites and grits). All known gold mineralisation within the Banket Formation is associated with the conglomerates and is found within the matrix that binds the pebbles together. Gold content is a function of the size and amount (packing) of quartz pebbles present within a conglomeratic unit – the bigger and/or more pebbles present, the higher the gold grade. The upper stratigraphic limit of the Banket Series Formation is marked by the hangingwall quartzite which exhibits well-developed and characteristic trough- and crossbedded haematitic black sand banding. The hangingwall quartzite also contains thin discontinuous grit interbeds. Dykes and sills of doleritic composition intrude the sedimentary sequence and frequently occur adjacent to complex structural zones.

Mineralisation style
There are four recognised conglomerate reefs namely A, B, C and D which are equivalent to the Tarkwaian Sub-basal, Basal (or Main), Middle (or West), and Breccia Reefs respectively. The B and C Reefs are oligomictic and consist of well-sorted conglomerates and have been mined underground in some areas more than a century ago. The A and D Reefs have a lower gold tenor and are polymictic containing both well-rounded and angular fragments. Gold is found within the matrix that binds the pebbles together. The gold content is a function of the size and amount (packing) of quartz pebbles present within a conglomeratic unit, the more pebbles present suggests more gold. The gold is fine-grained, particulate and free-milling.

Mineralogical studies indicate that the grain size of native gold particles ranges between 2 and 500 microns (0.002 to 0.5mm) and averages 130 microns (0.13mm). The thickness of the main mineralised B and C Reefs are approximately 15m and 6m respectively. The mineralised sequence dips at angles varying from steep and sub-vertical, at Blocks 1 and 2, to steep (70° to 80° north-dipping) towards Block 3 East. The dip continues to be shallower at Block 3 West (50°), through Blocks 4 and 5 (45°) to become 35° at Block 7 South and 30° at Block 8. At Ajopa, the average dip is 50° to 60°. At Blocks 7 and 8, the western limb of the syncline extends over 4km on the property, with the eastern limb reaching the surface just beyond the eastern boundary of the concession. The western and the eastern limbs outcrop about 4km apart with the mineralised horizons buried some 400m below the surface at the centre of the syncline.

Mineralisation characteristics
The gold is fine-grained, free milling and not associated with sulphides.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityUnits202320222021202020192018201720162015
Gold koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe275254228214193
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.

Operational metrics

Metrics202320222021202020192018201720162015
Tonnes processed  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe5.1 Mt5.3 Mt5.1 Mt5.1 Mt4.7 Mt
Plant annual capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Stripping / waste ratio  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe4.79 6.17 6.48 4.39
Total tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe31,490 kt38,333 kt35,347 kt27,850 kt

Production Costs

CommodityUnits2023202220212020201920182017
Total cash costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 815 / oz **   804 / oz **   823 / oz **  
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 890 / oz **   977 / oz **   1,033 / oz **  
All-in costs Gold USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 900 / oz **   977 / oz **   1,033 / oz **  
** Net of By-Product.

Financials

Units2023202220212020201920182017
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 42   51  
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 16   43   51  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 390   323   285  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 102   90   75  
Operating Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 95   86   71  
EBIT M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 98   89   74  
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 156   118   103  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

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EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
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Aerial view:

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