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Cluff keeps its claws in West Africa
Douglas Chikohora
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While Cluff Gold has yet to start producing from any of its operations, its definitive target is to identify in excess of 3mozpa of gold, and it will eventually produce a minimum of 300 000ozpa of gold. Considering that a large portion of the world's gold resource is already owned, Cluff has positioned itself in the West African region, and believes the area will make its ounce goal easily reachable. Douglas Chikohora, Cluff Gold technical director, spoke to Laura Cornish about the firm's current operations, and its ambitions for gold growth.
Although Cluff shares West Africa with gold majors, such as Anglogold Ashanti and Gold Fields, Chikohora believes it still holds a lot of potential for "major" new discoveries.
It does not have a presence in gold-rich Ghana, but has established itself in Burkina Faso, Mali, Sierra Leone and Cote D'Ivoire - all countries whose mining codes Chikohora describes as being "investor-friendly".
Cluff Gold is listed on London's AIM stock exchange with a current resource of just over 1.8mozpa. The company is looking to list on TSX in May or June this year. Any cash raised will be used to develop the company's projects further, specifically Baomahun.
COTE D'IVOIRE
Cluff Gold has a 90% stake in the Angovia open-pit, heap-leach gold project. This project will be the company's first producing mine, which was first commissioned in early February this year.
More than $11m was allocated to the project, which has an estimated four or five-year lifespan.
Angovia is expected to produce 33 000oz of gold this year, which will ramp up to 44 000oz next year.
While the project has a current resource base of 495 000oz, there is significant potential to expand on this. "We are already undergoing an aggressive exploration programme," says Chikohora.
Cluff has a 50kmē exploitation permit, and a 367kmē exploration permit.
BURKINA FASO
The Kalsaka project is also an open-pit heap-leach operation - which Chikohora indicates is most amenable to Cluff as the best, lowest cost processing technique. This project is expected to celebrate its first gold pour in the second quarter of this year.
It will be a 60 000ozpa producer, from a 791 000oz resource, of which 320 000oz are already in reserve. This mine will also have a five-year lifespan, and will be bigger than Angovia, with an estimated 35 000oz of gold expected for 2008, increasing to 60 000oz in 2009.
SIERRA LEONE (above)
Last month, Cluff Gold announced it had acquired the additional 40% stake in the Baomahun project it did not already own.
It is an advanced exploration project, with a resource of 1,16moz of gold. The scoping study was completed by EPCM companies RSV and Senet in August last year.
Chikohora explains that Baomahun has the potential to be another Geita - which was first discovered by Cluff, and is now under the ownership of Anglogold Ashanti.
"We will complete a bankable feasibility study in 2009, and start production in 2011," says Chikohora.
Cluff Gold also has an exploration permit for a diamond prospect in the country, which is still at a very early stage.
MALI
The Karbasso is a joint venture project with Kadiel Mining, signed in September 2005. Cluff Gold also has an 80% earn-in on the project, which runs along the same strike as Resolute's Syama mine.
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