Scandinavia-based Ethiopian gold producer Akobo Minerals’ operational update covering the latest mining and processing activities at the Segele mine in Ethiopia shows a strong production momentum, with daily blasting increased to two rounds, enabling 15–20 t of ore per day, with production volume expected to reach 400–500 t per month going forward.

Since mid-May, operations have shifted from development mining to production mining. Two separate working areas are extracting high-grade ore in line with the block model. High-grade gold has also been encountered and is being mined in structures outside the current resource model.

The company has reconfigured its processing plant to operate on pure gravity separation, eliminating the need for chemicals. This green recovery process reduces its environmental footprint and lowers production costs. It also allows the company to postpone the construction of a new tailings storage facility (TSF), in addition to improving recovery and purity.

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The new gravity circuit setup was successfully commissioned in May. It is designed to accommodate the future vertical shaft and provides sufficient capacity to defer construction of the TSF, reducing near-term capital expenditure until sufficient cash flow from the new shaft can fund it. This is expected to happen early next year. The plant now combines a cyclone unit and a Falcon concentrator with a shaking table, together forming a solid and proven gravity-based technology widely used in the industry.

Consequently, smelting has been temporarily put on hold to optimise recovery and to ensure that the new gravity setup is working as expected. Smelting will next be conducted with metallurgical experts who are expected on site in the last week of June.