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PRESSRELEASE
ASANKOGOLDANNOUNCESQ22017PRODUCTIONRESULTSQ22017Highlights:
• Quarterly gold production of 46,017 ounces and gold sales of 48,461 ounces, 2017 productionguidanceof230,000–240,000ouncesmaintained
• US$60millioningoldrevenueatanaveragerealizedpriceofUS$1,238perounce
• GradecontroldrillingconfirmsaccuracyofupdatedNkranMREtowithin2%duringthelastthreemonths
• P5Mvolumetricupgradestoincreaseplantthroughputto5Mtpacompletedaheadofscheduleandwithinbudget
• Industry-leadingsafetyrecordmaintainedwitharolling12monthLTIFRof0.20
• StrongbalancesheetwithunauditedcashandimmediatelyconvertibleworkingcapitalbalancesofapproximatelyUS$59.2million(June30,2017)
Vancouver,BritishColumbia,July19,2017–AsankoGoldInc.(“Asanko”orthe“Company”)(TSX,NYSEMKT:AKG)announcesproductionresultsforthesecondquarterof2017(“Q2”)fromtheAsankoGoldMine(“AGM”), locatedinGhana,WestAfrica.Q2operatingandfinancialresultswillbepublishedonAugust3,2017,conferencecallandwebcastdetailsbelow.
Commentingonthequarter’sperformance,PeterBreese,PresidentandCEO,said“Aspreviouslyguided,weanticipatedgoldproductionthisquarterwouldbelowerforthreereasons:weminedalowgradezoneintheNkran pit,we ramped upmining activities at the newly established Akwasiso pit andwe had temporaryshutdownsintheprocessingplanttoaccommodatetheinstallationofthevolumetricupgradesfrom3.6Mtpato5Mtpa,whichhavenowbeencompletedaheadofschedule.
Lookingahead,weexpect the secondhalf of the year tobe strongeraswe see thebenefits of theplantoperatingattheannualizedrateof5Mtpa,thegradeatNkranimproving,asweminethroughthelowgradezone, and the Akwasiso pit delivering planned grades and tonnages. We therefore maintain our 2017productionguidance.”
MiningAsanticipated,miningoperationscontinuedtoworkthroughalowgradesectionoftheorebodyinthecentreoftheNkranpitwithgradesaveraging1.5g/t.Inaddition,pre-strippingandminingoperationscommencedatAkwasiso.OreminingratesfortheAGMduringthequarteraveraged350,000tonnespermonth(“tpm”)atanaveragemininggradeof1.5g/tandaslightincreaseinthestripratioto6.2:1,asaresultofthewastemininginthewesternwallpushbackandthedevelopmentoftheAkwasisopit.Thewesternwall pushback sequenceof cut 2 commencedduringQ2and incorporated the geotechnicaldesignchangesimplementedaspartoftherecommendationsbySRKwhichincludedanadditional1.1milliontonnesofwastematerialintheslumpareaonthewesternwall.Thefocusforthequarterwastoprogressdowntothewestwalldesignelevation,whichwasinmostlyoxideandtransitionwastematerial.Oncethedesignelevationwasreached,thecutbackminingoperationswererelocatedtocommenceonthesoutheastsequenceofcut2,whichwillcontinueinthisareathroughouttheremainderof2017.
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MiningoperationscommencedatAkwasiso,ourlargestsatellitedeposit,duringQ2withsiteestablishmentandwasteremovaltofacilitateoremining.Earlyoreminingfocusedonpreviouslydisturbedsurfacematerialfromhistoricartisanalworkingswhichresultedinlowgradesreportingtothemill.ThisisexpectedtoimproveoncethemainAkwasisodepositisexposedandminingoperationsrampuptoapproximately70,000tpmoforeinQ32017.AGMKeyMiningStatistics Units Q12017 Q22017TotalTonnesMined 000t 6,637 7,506WasteTonnesMined 000t 5,620 6,458OreTonnesMined 000t 1,017 1,048
StripRatio W:O 5.5:1 6.2:1AverageGoldGradeMined g/t 1.8 1.5
ResourceReconciliationMining operations adopted the new CSA Global Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) and grade controlestimationprocessduringQ12017,whichwerefullyimplementedbytheendofApril2017.ThenewMREandassociatedgradecontrolprocesseshavebeenoperationalsinceMay2017.AreconciliationprocesshascommencedtomeasuretheentirevaluechainfromgoldinthegroundthroughtomillfeedandeventualgoldproductionagainsttheMRE.TheinitialreconciliationbetweentheresourcemodelandthegradecontrolmodelforthemonthsofMay,JuneandJulyhasconfirmedaclosecorrelationof2%betweenthetwomodels,confirmingtheAGMglobalMRE.Work is now underway on the rest of the reconciliation process to validate the design ofminingpolygonsandminingdilutionmanagementthroughtogoldproduction.Theseresultswillbepublishedinthecomingquartersoncesufficientoperationaldatahasbeencollected.ProcessingDuringQ2,theprocessingplant’sthroughputperformancewasmarginallylessthanthepreviousquarterandjustundertheannualizedrateof3.6Mtpa.Aspreviouslyannounced,thelowerthroughputwastheresultofplanned downtimes in the process facility to enable the P5M upgrade tie-ins. Metallurgical recoveriescontinuedtoexceeddesignlevelsat94%.
AGMKeyProductionStatistics
Units Q12017 Q22017
OreTreated 000t 908 887GoldFeedGrade g/t 2.0 1.7GoldRecovery % 95 94GoldProduced oz 58,187 46,017
Project5Million(“P5M”)DuringQ2,theP5Mvolumetricupgradeswerecompletedamonthaheadofscheduleandwithinbudget.Workincludedtheupgradeofthetailingsdamlineandpumpingsystems.WhileplantcommissioningwillcontinuethroughoutQ32017,somesignificantearlyresultshavebeenachieved,withtheupgradedplantrunningonacampaignbasisat625tonnesperhour(equivalentto5Mtpa)forsignificantperiodsoftime.AstheminingoperationsatAkwasisorampupduringQ32017andtheP5Mtie-insarebeddeddown,theplantisexpectedtorunat5Mtpaonaconsistentbasis.
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TherecoveryupgradesareduetobecompletedandcommissionedbeforetheendofQ42017andincludeanextraKnelson gravity gold concentrator, a second Intensive LeachReactor, an increase in theoxygenplant’scapacityto15tonnesperdayandanadditionalelectrowinningcellinthegoldroom.HealthandSafetyTherewerenolosttimeinjuries(“LTI”)reportedduringthequarterandthe12-monthrollinglosttimeinjuryfrequencyrate(“LTIFR”)permillionmanhoursworkedis0.20.SalesandLiquidity
Goldproductionforthequarterwas46,017ounceswithgoldsalesof48,461ouncesatanaveragerealizedpriceofUS$1,238perounce,generatinggoldsalesrevenueofUS$60million.AtJune30,2017theCompany’sbalancesheethadapproximatelyUS$55.0millioninunauditedcash,US$0.4millioningoldreceivablesandUS$3.8millionindore(withamarketvalueofUS$4.6million).TheCompanyhasnosignificantcurrentlongtermdebtobligations,withitsfirstprincipalrepaymentonitsUS$150milliondebtfacilitynotdueuntilJuly1,2018.Q22017OperatingandFinancialResultsConferenceCall&WebcastDetails:
Managementwillhostaconferencecallandwebcastat9amESTonThursday,August3,2017todiscusstheQ22017operatingandfinancialresults,whichwillbepublishedonthesameday.
Detailsbelow.US/CanadaTollFree: 8009059496 UKTollFree: 08004961454International: +12122714615 Webcast:Pleaseclickonthelink:https://cc.callinfo.com/r/17b600pojy7rl&eomReplayArecordedplaybackwillbeavailableapproximatelytwohoursafterthecalluntilSeptember3,2017:US/CanadaTollFree: 800 558 5253 International: +14166264100Passcode: 21855191
Enquiries:Forfurtherinformation,pleasevisit:www.asanko.com,email:[email protected]:
AlexBuck-Manager,InvestorandMediaRelationsToll-Free(N.America):18552467341Telephone:+447932740452Email:[email protected]
RyanWalchuck,VPCorporateDevelopmentandInvestorRelationsTelephone:+17789862000Email:[email protected]
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AboutAsankoGoldInc.Asanko’svisionistobecomeamid-tiergoldminingcompanythatmaximizesvalueforallitsstakeholders.TheCompany’sflagshipprojectisthemulti-millionounceAsankoGoldMinelocatedinGhana,WestAfrica.Asanko ismanagedbyhighlyskilledandsuccessful technical,operationalandfinancialprofessionals.TheCompany is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, socialresponsibility,andhealthandsafetyforitsemployeesandneighbouringcommunities.Forward-LookingandotherCautionaryInformationThis release includes certain statements thatmay be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in thisrelease,other thanstatementsofhistorical facts, thataddressestimated resourcequantities,gradesandcontainedmetals,possiblefuturemining,explorationanddevelopmentactivities,areforward-lookingstatements.AlthoughtheCompanybelievestheforward-lookingstatementsarebasedonreasonableassumptions,suchstatementsshouldnotbeinanywayconstruedasguaranteesoffutureperformanceandactualresultsordevelopmentsmaydiffermateriallyfromthoseintheforward-lookingstatements.Factorsthatcouldcauseactualresultstodiffermateriallyfromthoseinforward-lookingstatementsincludemarketpricesformetals,theconclusionsofdetailedfeasibilityandtechnicalanalyses,thetimelyrenewalofkeypermits,lowerthanexpectedgradesandquantitiesofresources,miningratesandrecoveryratesandthelackofavailabilityofnecessarycapital,whichmaynotbeavailabletotheCompanyontermsacceptabletoitoratall.TheCompanyissubjecttothespecificrisksinherentintheminingbusinessaswellasgeneraleconomicandbusinessconditions.FormoreinformationontheCompany,investorsshouldreviewtheCompany'sAnnualForm40-F filingwith theUnited States Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available atwww.sedar.com.NeitherTorontoStockExchangenortheInvestmentIndustryRegulatoryOrganizationofCanadaacceptsresponsibilityfortheadequacyoraccuracyofthisrelease.CautionaryNotetoUSInvestorsRegardingMineralReportingStandards:Asankohasprepareditsdisclosure inaccordancewiththerequirementsofsecurities lawsineffect inCanada,whichdifferfromtherequirementsofUSsecuritieslaws.TermsrelatingtomineralresourcesinthispressreleasearedefinedinaccordancewithNationalInstrument43-101-StandardsofDisclosureforMineralProjectsundertheguidelinessetout in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Standards on Mineral Resources and MineralReserves.TheSecuritiesandExchangeCommission(the“SEC”)permitsminingcompanies,intheirfilingswiththeSEC,todiscloseonlythosemineraldepositsthatacompanycaneconomicallyandlegallyextractorproduce.Asankousescertainterms,suchas,“measuredmineralresources”,“indicatedmineralresources”,“inferredmineralresources”and“probablemineralreserves”,thattheSECdoesnotrecognize(thesetermsmaybeusedinthispressreleaseandareincluded in the public filings of Asanko which have been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities inCanada).
