22
07.13
T
he Mupane mine, which is Galane’s core asset,
was developed by Australia’s Gallery Gold as a
1 Mt/a open-pit/CIL operation in 2003/04 and
later became part of the IAMGOLD stable. The mine
poured its first gold in November 2004, in the process
returning Botswana – which has a long but sporadic
history of relatively small-scale gold production – to
the status of a gold producer. To date, Mupane has
produced nearly 600 000 ounces of gold and should
now be in closure mode as the original BFS – based
on a mineable reserve of 589 000 ounces – only en-
visaged a very limited life. But there is no sign of it
closing anytime soon and its current remaining life is
four plus years, with every prospect that this can be
significantly extended.
“We purchased Mupane knowing that it was a
sound asset which only needed focused management
to put it on the right path,” says Condon. “It’s clear
that it’s one of those mines which can go on for many
years provided the gold price holds up. It can draw
not only on the mineral resources in the immediate
area of the Mupane plant but also those of a multitude
of surrounding prospects, which are all at varying
stages of exploration. Over the past year, for example,
ore was derived not only from the Tholo pit adjacent
to the Mupane plant but also from the Signal Hill pit,
now exhausted, and the Golden Eagle pit, which will
remain active until the end of next year. Both Signal
Hill and Golden Eagle are around 25 km from the
Mupane plant – in opposite directions – and illus-
trate our strategy going forward – which is to supple-
ment the resources at the Mupane site with a series
of satellite deposits, all within trucking distance of
the plant.”
The plant is a modern CIL facility with a capacity
of 1,2 Mt/a of oxide ore and 1,0 Mt/a of sulphide ore.
“This is a key asset which is performing well and
which potentially has many years of life ahead,” says
Condon. “It has the ability to service all our tene-
ments within the Tati goldbelt, which extends from
the Francistown area down to Matsiloje near the Zim-
babwean border over a distance of about 60 km. The
Galane Gold
gets
to grips with Mupane
The Tholo pit at the Mupane mine site. A major accelerated cutback at Tholo has now been completed.
Galane Gold, the TSX-V-listed company which in 2011 acquired Botswana’s only active gold mine, Mupane,
as well as a dominant landholding within the Tati Greenstone Belt, reports that it is making good progress with
its acquisitions. Gold production for 2012 (Galane’s financial year coincides with the calendar year) was just
under 50 000 ounces, which was within expectations, while very positive results have been forthcoming from
the company’s exploration of its tenements within the Tati Belt.
Modern Mining’s
Arthur Tassell recently spoke
to CEO Philip Condon and Chief Geologist Charles Byron about Galane’s current activities and future prospects.
gold
