By: Creamer media

The average grade was 9 g/t.

Akobo earlier in May reported the production of 1 kg of material from the Segele mine, in Ethiopia, in March and April, at an average grade of 3 g/t. This was below the company’s expectation and caused near-term liquidity concerns for the company.

“The smelting outcome marks a clear improvement and represents an encouraging step toward achieving production levels more consistent with the Segele deposit’s long-term potential,” the company states.

The Segele deposit is characterised by variability in gold grade owing to its “nuggety” mineralisation. While the overall average grade of all mined material since production began remains high – close to 20 g/t – the short-term predictability of gold output is affected by the inherent variability of the orebody.

The company continues to try and access higher-grade gold zones at the mine, working with three active headings underground and increasing daily tonnage through process improvements.

A key development in this effort is a planned vertical shaft, which Akobo says will provide more reliable and consistent access to high-grade sections of the orebody. The company expects the shaft to significantly enhance both production stability and overall efficiency.