Know: AngloGold Ashanti Ghana’s remarkable project Obuasi

AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields Corporation merged in 2004 to form AngloGold Ashanti Limited, an autonomous, international gold mining company with a broad, high-quality portfolio of partnerships, projects, and exploration activities.

The company ranked as the fourth-largest gold miner in the world as of May 2023 with holdings in Ghana, Australia, the United States, and Argentina.

The overarching goal of AngloGold Ashanti’s strategy is to produce long-term, sustainable cash flow improvements and returns in order to create and protect value for its stakeholders.

The company’s Ghana branch is currently focusing on the remarkable project Obuasi, an underground mining operation that descends to a depth of 1,500 meters. It is located in Ghana’s Ashanti region, about 60 kilometers south of Kumasi.

Shafts and a single access decline with interlevel development ranging from 15 to 30 meters make up the primary mine entrances at Obuasi.

Office buildings, workshops, company housing estates, subterranean development, hoisting shafts and related infrastructure, a 2.4 Mtpa processing plant with flotation and bacterial oxidation (BIOX), and power and water reticulation are all examples of the existing infrastructure. The Volta River Authority and GridCo provide electricity to the mine.

Moreover, the third phase of the redevelopment project is presently in progress, having started in 2019.

History about Obuasi project

1. Obuasi was a site of production from 1897 until the final quarter of 2014. A favorable feasibility study that was completed in 2017 and indicated a strong technical and economic case with an anticipated 20-year LOM led to the continuation of some aspects of the mine under limited operating conditions, such as the development of the underground decline.

2. In 2018, the AngloGold Ashanti Board approved the project’s continuation. First gold was poured during the fourth quarter of 2019.

3. Phase 1 of the redevelopment project was finished by the end of September 2020, and commercial production started on October 1 of that same year.

4. Phase 2 of the project was finished in 2021, bringing capacity to 4,000 tons per day.

3. Phase 3 is currently underway to develop the infrastructure required to support the planned ramp up in production to 5,000 tons per day, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024 due to delays caused by the need to clear mud encountered at the lower levels.

4. A trial of underhand drift and fill mining in high-grade areas was started in 2023 because this method is more appropriate for the difficult ground conditions frequently associated with higher grades.