Iduapriem, Ghana

Iduapriem, a 137km² concession which includes Ajopa South West, is located in the western region of Ghana, some 70km north of the coastal city of Takoradi and approximately 10km southwest of the town of Tarkwa. Iduapriem Mine is bordered to the north by Gold Fields Ghana Limited (Tarkwa Mine) and to the east by the Ghana Manganese Company Limited (a manganese mine in existence since the 1920s).

Iduapriem is an open pit mine with two circuits each comprising two-stage milling – a gravity circuit and a carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant. The gravity circuit recovers about 30% of the gold and the remainder is recovered by the 418ktpm capacity CIL plant.

A brief history

• A feasibility study was completed in 1990 and in October 1991, the then owners, Golden Shamrock Limited (Golden Shamrock) began construction of a 1.36Mtpa semi-autogenous milling circuit and carbon-in-pulp (CIP) plant.
• Mining commenced in August 1992 with the first gold pour achieved in September of that year.
• Golden Shamrock was acquired by Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited in 1996.
• In 2000, a portion of the non-operational Teberebie Goldfields Limited company (a subsidiary of Pioneer Goldfields Limited) was purchased resulting in an increased Ore Reserve and LOM.
• In 2002, Ashanti upgraded the plant capacity to 4Mtpa and in 2004 AngloGold merged with Ashanti to become AngloGold Ashanti.
• In 2009 the plant capacity was further extended to the current 5.2Mtpa.