Gold

Tietto’s gold project plant set for first pour in fourth quarter

Fri 10 Jun 22, 2:29pm (AEDT)
Gold ingots are laid out in a square with two ingots placed diagonally on top
Source: iStock

Key Points

  • Tietto Minerals is eager to see its first Abujar plant gold pour conducted at its Côte d’Ivoire project in West Africa later this year
  • The Abujar Gold project has a mine with a 3.45Moz gold resource attached; downstream facility construction on-track
  • Facility in question is a Semi-Autogenous Grinding (SAG) mill, company is targeting production of 260,000oz Au in 2023

Tietto Minerals (ASX:TIE) is set to produce 260,000oz of gold in 2023 with the first pour at its Abujar SAG mill plant to be carried out in fourth quarter FY22. 

The company’s share price is up 1.3% to 38.5c today, but the company has not been spared from the sell-offs defining ASX performance this year—year to date (YTD) performance sees Tietto down -22.22%. 

Construction of the Abujar SAG mill was accelerated by a $130m two-tranche placement with no debt. 

Tietto describes its strategy as “drill and build,” with the company actively mining at its Abujar acreage while the SAG mill in question is put up in the air. 

While the total resource potential sits at 3.45Moz for the project, Tietto notes its measured gold resource of 7.7Mt @ 1.4 grams of gold per tonne for 350,000oz. 

(Source: Tietto) An aerial snapshot of the company's Abujar SAG mill as of early June
(Source: Tietto) An aerial snapshot of the company's Abujar SAG mill as of early June

Construction of the SAG mill underway 

The company has installed some 40% of tailings dump linings, while at the same time all major mill components have arrived via charter vessel in Abidjan. 

Those major components are to be installed starting next month. 

Leaching tank erection has commenced on site with a 90kV transmission grid connection ongoing; Tietto describes this process as some 25% complete. 

The company claims it will produce 1.2Moz of gold between late 2022 and late 2028. 

Resource growth on the cards 

Tietto further highlights plans expand its resource growth with an updated Life of Mine (LOM) production plan due in third quarter FY22. 

The company notes the updated LOM will take into account a higher gold spot price than that when the company’s original Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) was published, with higher mill throughput to be an additional factor. 

All in all, Tietto is optimistic this will extend LOM production. 

Côte d'Ivoire is the seventh largest gold producing nation in Africa and sees a number of foreign companies participating in the country’s resources sector. 

Earlier this week, Tietto flagged an anomalous high-grade core at 119g/t, while drilling activities at Abujar continue.

Tietto's 3mth charts compared to the materials index
Tietto's 3mth charts compared to the materials index

 

Written By

Jonathon Davidson

Finance Writer

Jonathon is a journalism graduate and avid market watcher with exposure to governance, NGO and mining environments. He was most recently hired as an oil and gas specialist for a trade publication.

Get the latest news and insights direct to your inbox

Subscribe free