Golden Star Resources has appointed Manroc Developments as the underground mining contractor for its Prestea Underground gold mine in Ghana. Alimak stoping, a mechanized shrinkage mining method, was selected for Prestea Underground and Manroc specializes in Alimak stoping.
Prestea Underground is a narrow, high-grade deposit, with reserves of 1 million metric tons (mt) grading at 14.02g/mt for 469,000 oz and substantial exploration upside potential. Members of Golden Star’s technical team at Prestea Underground have experience using Alimak mining techniques at the Myra Falls mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Musselwhite mine in Ontario, Canada.
Golden Star is expected to commence development of the Prestea Underground ore body during the fourth quarter of 2016 and Manroc is expected to mobilize its fleet to site during the same quarter.
“The development of Prestea Underground is progressing well and the appointment of a mining contractor is the next important step,” said Sam Coetzer, president and CEO of Golden Star. “We remain on track to bring Prestea Underground into production in mid-2017, which will be a significant milestone for Golden Star as it is expected to increase our production rate and further reduce our cash operating costs.”