Iduapriem, Ghana

Overview and locality

The Iduapriem mine covers a 137km² concession that includes Ajopa South West and is located in the western region of Ghana, some 70km north of the coastal city of Takoradi and approximately 10km southwest of the town of Tarkwa. It is bordered to the north by Gold Fields Ghana Limited (Tarkwa Mine) and to the east by the Ghana Manganese Company Limited (a manganese mine in existence since the 1920s).

Iduapriem is an open-pit operation with two circuits each comprising two-stage milling – a gravity circuit and a carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant. The gravity circuit recovers about 30% of the gold and the remainder is recovered by the 418ktpm capacity CIL plant.

A brief history

• A feasibility study was completed in 1990 and, in October 1991, the then owners, Golden Shamrock Limited, (Golden Shamrock) began construction of a 1.36Mtpa semi-autogenous milling circuit and carbon-in-pulp (CIP) plant.
• Mining began in August 1992 with the first gold pour achieved in September of that year.
• Golden Shamrock was acquired by Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited in 1996.
• In 2000, a portion of the non-operational Teberebie Goldfields Limited company (a subsidiary of Pioneer Goldfields Limited) was purchased, resulting in an increased Ore Reserve and LOM.
• In 2002, Ashanti upgraded the plant capacity to 4Mtpa and, in 2004, AngloGold merged with Ashanti to become AngloGold Ashanti.
• In 2009, the plant capacity was further extended to the current 5.2Mtpa.
• A three-year investment plan is currently underway to revise and extend Iduapriem’s life of mine. The plan, which involves accelerated waste stripping, also includes increasing capacity of Iduapriem’s TSF to match the revised mine plan.