Tropicana gold project Mineral Resource increases
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| Tuesday, November 29, 2011 |
The Mineral Resource estimate for the Tropicana Gold Project has increased by 1.05 million ounces to 6.41 million ounces of contained gold.
The Tropicana Gold Project, 330 kilometres east-northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, is part of the Tropicana Joint Venture, owned by AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd (70% and Manager) and Independence Group NL (30%).
A breakdown of the updated Mineral Resource estimate is provided in Table 1 and a comparison of the June 2011 and November 2011 estimates is provided in Table 2.
Table 1: Tropicana Mineral Resource (100% Project) as at 28 November 2011
| Classification |
Tonnes*
(Millions) |
Gold (g/t) |
Contained Au
(Millions oz) |
| Measured |
28.2 |
2.14 |
1.95 |
| Indicated |
49.4 |
2.04 |
3.25 |
| Inferred |
10.6 |
3.56 |
1.21 |
| Total |
88.3 |
2.26 |
6.41 |
* Rounded to the nearest decimal place
The Open Pit Ore Reserve has not yet been updated and remains unchanged at 3.91 million ounces of contained gold as at 30 June 2011 and as announced to the market on 27 July 2011.
The growth in Mineral Resource primarily reflects additional drilling completed as part of the Havana Deeps Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), focussed on the down plunge extents of the Havana ore body below the Havana open pit. The underground Mineral Resource has grown by 1.00 Moz Au as a result of this drilling.
The Havana Deeps PFS, which is due for completion in late 2012, will examine the trade-off between open pit and underground mining of the Havana Deeps deposit. Potential exists for a portion of the current Havana Deeps underground Mineral Resource to be mined via a large open pit cutback on the Havana pit. If this strategy is demonstrated to be economically viable and is the preferred option, there is potential for the resource to further increase.
Table 2: Tropicana Mineral Resource Comparison (100% Project) 30 June 2011 to 28 November 2011
Mineral
Resource |
Classification |
Jun 30 - 11
|
Nov 30 - 11 |
Change |
| |
|
Mt |
g/t |
Moz |
Mt |
g/t |
Moz |
Mt |
g/t |
Moz |
| Open Pit |
Measured |
28.4 |
2.15 |
1.97 |
28.2 |
2.14 |
1.95 |
-0.2 |
-0.01 |
-0.02 |
| |
Indicated |
43.9 |
1.89 |
2.67 |
44.5 |
1.87 |
2.68 |
0.6 |
-0.02 |
0.01 |
| |
Inferred |
1.0 |
3.06 |
0.10 |
1.8 |
2.70 |
0.15 |
0.8 |
-0.35 |
0.06 |
| |
Total |
73.3 |
2.01 |
4.73 |
74.5 |
1.99 |
4.78 |
1.2 |
-0.01 |
0.05 |
| Underground |
Measured |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| |
Indicated |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
5.0 |
3.57 |
0.57 |
5.0 |
3.57 |
0.57 |
| |
Inferred |
5.3 |
3.65 |
0.63 |
13.8 |
3.67 |
1.63 |
8.5 |
0.02 |
1.00 |
| |
Total |
5.3 |
3.65 |
0.63 |
13.8 |
3.67 |
1.63 |
8.5 |
0.02 |
1.00 |
| Total |
Measured |
28.4 |
2.15 |
1.97 |
28.2 |
2.14 |
1.95 |
-0.2 |
-0.01 |
-0.02 |
| |
Indicated |
43.9 |
1.89 |
2.67 |
49.4 |
2.04 |
3.25 |
5.5 |
0.15 |
0.58 |
| |
Inferred |
6.3 |
3.56 |
0.72 |
10.6 |
3.56 |
1.21 |
4.3 |
0.00 |
0.49 |
| |
Total |
78.6 |
2.12 |
5.36 |
88.3 |
2.26 |
6.41 |
9.7 |
0.14 |
1.05 |
Note: For the Open Pit Mineral Resource estimate, mineralisation in the Havana South, Tropicana and Boston Shaker areas was calculated within a US$1,600/ounce optimisation at a AUD:USD exchange rate of 1.14 (A$1,400/ounce). The Open Pit Mineral Resources have been estimated using the geostatistical technique of Uniform Conditioning. The Havana portion of the Open Pit Mineral Resource lies within the Bankable Feasibility Study Open Pit Design which was calculated at US$880/oz at a AUD:USD exchange rate of 0.80 (A$1,100/ounce) . The Havana Deeps estimate was calculated at US$1,600/oz (AUD:USD 1.14) (A$1,400/ounce). The Havana Deeps Underground Mineral Resource was estimated using the geostatistical technique of Direct-Block Conditional Simulation using average drill hole intercepts. The following cut-off grades were used: Open Pit: 0.3 g/t for Transported and Upper Saprolite material, 0.4 g/t for Lower Saprolite and Transitional material and 0.5 g/t for Fresh material. Underground: 2.14g/t.
ENDS
| Contacts |
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Tel: |
E-mail: |
| Alan Fine (Media) |
+27 (0) 11 637 6383 / +27 (0) 83 250 0757 |
afine@anglogoldashanti.com |
| Andrea Maxey (Investors & Media) |
+61 8 9425 4603 / +61 400 072 199 |
amaxey@anglogoldashanti.com.au |
| Stewart Bailey (Investors) |
+1 212 836 4303 / +1 646 338 4337 |
sbailey@anglogoldashanti.com |
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