e-mail: debbie.lewis@canaccord.com e-mail: david.pescod@canaccord.com January 14, 2011
AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL NIKIFORUK
PRESIDENT OF AFRICAN GOLD GROUP
(As of January 13, 2011)
We are here with Michael Nikiforuk and it
looks like he has a very nice adventure
that’s about to start happening in Africa
shortly. I guess that’s the suitable location
for a company called African Gold
Group. (African Gold is the top pick of
Jed Richardson, one of our top stock
pickers. Remember Amazon and Quest?)
David Pescod: Mike, why don’t you tell
us your interpretation of your potential,
being right beside Keegan Resources (KGN).
Mike Nikiforuk: Being next to Keegan, we are talking about
our holdings in Ghana. We hold 94% of the northern Asankrangwa
footprint with a 456 square kilometer holding comprised
of 5 contiguous concessions as compared to Keegan’s
28 square kilometer Esaase concession which is reported to
be hosting an inferred resource in the magnitude of 4.9 million
ounces.
So, we are delighted with Keegan’s progress. They have obviously
brought a great deal of attention to the belt and that’s
an interesting thing about Ghana is that Ghana, despite the
prospectivity and the extent and number of producing mines,
there is still tremendous potential there as exhibited or illustrated
by Keegan’s very recent success. Of course, given our
proximity or closeology to Keegan where we are sharing a
common border with them on the northwest flank of our holdings
that are of considerably greater size, what we are counting
on and speculating on is that we would either have extension
of their structure up into our northwest quadrant or
equally as favorably, we believe a parallel structure that may
be hosting similar mineralization.
It will take time and money to ascertain, but we have in fact
spent some money on our Asankrangwa Holdings – not a
great deal over the years, but we have drilled it and we have
economic grade over mineable width, in several of the holes
that we drilled, we’ve got a phenomenal target in our southern
concession which we refer to as Manso Atwere.
A picture of the “Massive” artisanal pit, hand dug by the locals
and estimated to have excavated approx. 600,000 metric tons of
material—Manso Atwere Concession, Asankrangwa Holdings,
Ghana.
African Gold Group
David Pescod T: 780.408.1750 Debbie Lewis T: 780.408.1748 Fax: 780.408.1501 Page 2
It’s a 7.2 square kilometer concession that is hosting an
enormous artisanal pit that is in the vicinity of 200 metres
in length, 30 to 40 meters wide, 30 to 40 meters deep.
This is not surface enrichment…this is hard rock mining.
We have yet to test underneath this pit, but we think it
hosts tremendous potential as a highly prospective target.
DP: This is truly a sweet area of Africa to be looking in
because we notice some previous mines also in the similar
area where you are. Just looking at some of the other
mines in the area besides Keegan…
MN: Ghana is host to the Obuasi Gold Mine which is an
Anglogold Ashanti project at this point in time – formerly
Ashanti Goldfields. This is a mine that’s in the magnitude
of 50 plus million ounces, been in commercial production
for over 100 years and is down about 1 ½ km and has a
long way to go in terms of its commercial history. We’ve
got Goldfields with its most profitable mining operation in
the world at Tarkwa. We’ve got Newmont with their Ahafo
Project. When Newmont entered Ghana in 2002 through
the acquisition of Normandy, one of the first things that
Denver stated they were going to do during the reign of
Pierre LaSonde, the CEO, was to sell those West African
holdings in Ghana and today, Ahafo is producing over
500,000 ounces Au a year for Newmont.
The resource is pushing close to 20 million ounces and
Ghana is now Newmont’s fifth global operating district
and the cornerstone of Newmont’s Pan African strategy.
and this all started since 2002. There is Golden Star, producing
at Bogoso/Prestea; Perseus from Australia is developing
the Central Ashanti Gold Project, formerly
known as Ayanfuri, etc, etc. Ghana was formerly known
as the “Gold Coast” for a very real reason. There is a lot
of gold there.
It’s home to the fabled Ashanti Kingdom which goes back
centuries and it’s a kingdom based on gold and gold trading
and it’s just a phenomenal jurisdiction not only for
geologic reasons, but also for political stability. It’s come
a long way and it’s going to go a long way further.
DP: When does work start on your program, how big is it
and when do you expect the first drilling results?
MN: AGG has four distinct gold projects in its portfolio –
three in Ghana and one in Mali. Our most advanced project
is our flagship asset in Mali – The Kobada Gold Project.
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A map showing AGG’s Asankrangwa Holdings and their proximity
to Keegan’s Esaase Deposit + the site of the BIG artisanal
pit at AGG’s Manso Atwere concession. |
