Africa Barrick Gold (ABG) has reaffirmed plans to continue investing in
its Tanzanian operations this year and beyond, in order to improve efficiency
in its four gold mines and explore the potential of developing a fifth mine at
its Nyanzaga deposit.
"The operations continue to make progress. We've had our
challenges over the last couple of years, and it’s vitally important that we
seek to deliver what we have set out to the market and to ourselves during 2012
and beyond," African Barrick Gold CEO Greg Hawkins, said.
"We are looking for growth .... You would have heard us talk about
the Nyanzaga project -- the ‘Tusker’ deposit -- and the potential delivered by
our exploration team which has worked very, very hard over the last 18 months
to declare a 4-million ounce resource out there.
“So, a real potential fifth mine in Tanzania and something that can
really grow the business over the next few years," Hawkins said.
ABG acquired Tusker Gold in May 2010, giving the company 100 percent
control of the Nyanzaga project.
Hawkins, speaking at the Barrick Excellence Awards ceremony at Buzwagi
mine this week, reaffirmed ABG's commitment to Tanzania in mining gold.
ABG targets increased overall output for its four gold-producing mines
in Tanzania -- Bulyanhulu, North Mara, Buzwagi and Tulawaka - and will look to
control cash costs further, he said.
"Cash costs are a key focus for us. Our best leverage for
improving our cash cost per ounce performance is to produce more ounces and I
think we've got some options at all the mines to be able to improve the
production level and that will help us manage our cash cost per ounce," he
added.
The largest gold miner in the world, with current production of close
to 700,000 ounces of gold in Tanzania, ABG plans to boost production to one
million ounces in the country per year by 2014.
The company, which has invested around 2.0billion US dollars in its
Tanzanian operations so far, currently employs 5,400 people.
Source: the Guardian,ippmedia.com, reported by Patrick Kisembo
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