LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - GoldStone Resources updated the market on activities at its Akrokeri-Homase Gold Project in the Ashanti Region of Ghana on Friday, reporting that progress was being made within the area of Akrokeri that hosted the numerous artisanal shafts and pits, where it was making safe the shallow workings, and those that had been accessed were being mapped.
The AIM-traded company said the project was centred around two previously-producing assets - the high-grade Akrokeri underground mine and the Homase open pit mine - which were being simultaneously developed towards delivering gold production by mid-2020.

It explained that at Akrokeri's North Shaft, where the first level had been intersected, the process of clearing out old rails, wood and debris was underway to form a safe access to continue working in the shaft for the reopening of the mine to access the workings down to 400 feet.

At the Homase Open Pit Mine, GoldStone said that as part of the scoping study along the eight kilometre Homase Trend, a pilot heap leach project was underway to determine parameters for near-term development, including the period required for leaching and potential gold recoveries through heap leach treatment.

After the first 40 days of irrigation of a pilot heap leach plant, using 2.5 tonnes of material from Homase South within the Homase Trend, recoveries were reported at 67.5%, with irrigation continuing through to extinction.

The board said the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa, Ghana, estimated that the leach cycle would be 65 days with recoveries of up to 80%.

It also reported that the oxide zone within Homase South was demonstrating amenability to low-capex heap leach treatment.

The scoping study would also look at the Homase North Resource Zone within the Homase Trend, where historic trenching indicated high-grade gold mineralisation, including 15.0 metres at 6.31 g/t Au, which included 4.5 metres at 18.23 g/t Au.

Following on from the soils programme results announced 20 June, GoldStone said a deep trenching programme was underway, to prove up the continuity of the mineralisation within the Homase Trend north of the former Homase pit.

The first stage of trenching was at the Homase North and Adubriem deposits, with samples having being submitted to the laboratory, with results expected in the first quarter of 2019

GoldStone said the environmental baseline study had been expanded to include the potential Homase North pits as well as Homase South.

"Our strategy of advancing development at both Akrokeri and Homase is centred on achieving production at multiple mining operations in as short time as practicable," said GoldStone chief executive officer Emma Priestley.

"Akrokeri has the distinct advantage of demonstrating exceptionally high grade material, including intercepts of 1.0 metre at 51.01 g/t Au, and established mining infrastructure, whilst Homase offers the potential benefit of being amenable to low capital heap leach treatment.

"When looking at the assets in unison, I am confident that GoldStone has a clear pathway to production in mid 2020, utilising the significant support and expertise of our strategic shareholders and team who have a proven track record in building gold mines."

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