African Mining Network

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AMN - GHANA: Commercial production at Wassa

Golden Star Resources has achieved commercial production at its Wassa Underground Gold Mine in Ghana. The project construction of Wassa Underground, including the installation of all ancillary infrastructure, is essentially complete and operational, in accordance with the company's planned schedule and budget.

Gold production is anticipated to continue to ramp up during 2017 as Golden Star's mining operations begin to access the B Shoot, which is a higher grade area of the Wassa Underground ore body. The company plans to begin longitudinal stoping of the B Shoot in the first quarter of 2017, with the larger, transverse stopes expected to be accessed in the third quarter of 2017.

Since Golden Star blasted the first stope at Wassa Underground in July 2016, the company has been mining development and stope ore in the F Shoot. Golden Star expects to announce its full year 2016 production results, including the production results for Wassa Underground, and its full year 2017 guidance in terms of production, operating costs and capital expenditures later in January 2017.

Golden Star president and CEO Sam Coetzer says: "Achieving commercial production at Wassa Underground marks the successful completion of a 17 month construction period. It is also another important milestone in our transformation into a high grade, non-refractory gold producer. Golden Star also anticipates that it will benefit from Wassa Underground's lower cost production, as a result of the higher grade ore being fed into the Wassa processing plant. I want to thank our project construction team for their outstanding efforts as Wassa Underground was constructed safely, on schedule and within our capital budget.”

www.gsr.com

News courtesy of International Mining