News that Asanko Gold has increased production guidance and secured positive drill results from a new exploration site at its Ghana mine project spurred positive comments from four analysts following the company.
Asanko Gold Inc.’s (AKG:NYSE.MKT; AKG:TSX) H2/16 production increased from 90,000–100,000 ounces to 100,000–105,000 ounces, the company announced in a Sept. 15 press release. Asanko also reported that its mills were operating “at 10% over design capacity at 3.3Mtpa,” and that gold recoveries were “exceeding plan.”
Following that, on Sept. 19 Asanko announced what it called “highly encouraging results from new near-mine exploration target, Akwasiso.” The company drilled 81 new holes, uncovering “visible gold intercepts and extensive mineralized intersections of similar style to main Nkran pit.”
In a Sept. 19 research report, Raymond James analyst Chris Thompson noted “the Akwasiso target is well positioned to provide supplemental ore to the plant during 2017/18. . .with widths in excess of 10m with significant grades, the initial results from Akwasiso are encouraging and reflect the Nkran shear corridor’s exploration potential.”
Nana Sangmuah of Clarus Securities, in a Sept. 20 research report, stated, “We believe that the near-mine exploration success coupled with throughput expansion should enable AKG to deliver a significant production boost in 2017 and 2018 before ore from the Esaase is accessed.” Esaase represents Phase 2 of the Asanko Gold Mine’s development.
Commenting on the news of increased production guidance, analyst Jeff Killeen of CIBC, in a Sept. 15 research report, commented that, “Positively, milled grades for July and August were 2.1 g/t and 2.0 g/t, respectively, representing a significant step up on the Q2 average grade of 1.69 g/t. . .we expect that the increase in grades will be of the most significance to the market today and will help to alleviate any overhang on the stock in …read more