Ore from four deposits would travel by truck to a single plant sitting between the two biggest pits. That is the layout Newcore Gold Ltd. set out on June 24 in a Pre-Feasibility Study for its Enchi Gold Project in southwest Ghana.
The Boin and Sewum deposits supply 80% of the material to be mined. Nyam and Kwakyekrom make up the rest of the feed. The plant would process 5.5 million tonnes a year using standard milling and carbon-in-leach technology, and Newcore would hire contract miners instead of running its own fleet. Construction is pegged at 24 months and upfront capital at $351 million. The study adds $135 million in sustaining capital and $21 million for closure, covering reclamation and environmental monitoring.
Inside the plant
Oxide ore would pass through a mineral sizer, and fresh ore through a jaw crusher. Grinding relies on an 8.5 MW SAG mill paired with a 15 MW ball mill, aiming for a particle size of 53 µm. A gravity circuit pulls out the coarse gold first. The remaining slurry goes through carbon-in-leach, then elution and electrowinning, and the output is refined into doré.
Metallurgical testing used oxide, transition and fresh samples from Boin, Sewum and Nyam. Labs in Tarkwa, Ghana and Kamloops, Canada ran the work. Recoveries ranged from 89.4% to 97.7%, and the study uses a weighted average of 90.5%.
The setting
Enchi covers 248 km2 and runs along about 40 km of the Bibiani Shear Zone. The same belt hosts Newmont’s Ahafo mine and Asante Gold’s Bibiani and Chirano mines. Lycopodium (Americas) Limited of Mississauga, Ontario led the study. Fuse Advisors, Knight Piésold Ghana and DRA Americas handled mine planning, tailings and water, and resource and geotechnical work.
The economics, at a spot price of $4,200 per ounce, come to a $647 million after-tax NPV at 5% and a 45% after-tax IRR. Output in the first three years is about 130,000 ounces annually.
Permits, paperwork and more drilling
Newcore intends to apply for a mining lease this year. The company says Ghana’s government has shown strong support for moving Enchi toward production. The study draws on a March 18, 2026 resource estimate that includes drilling through October 6, 2025. It leaves out more than 50,000 metres from the 80,000-metre campaign now running.
“We have an active year-ahead as drilling continues on the Project with a focus on resource growth,” said Greg Smith, vice president of exploration. Four rigs are on site. The NI 43-101 technical report, with an effective date of June 23, 2026, was filed on SEDAR+ on August 7.
Sources
- Newcore Gold Announces Robust Pre-Feasibility Study for the Enchi Gold Project, Ghana
- Newcore Gold Files Pre-Feasibility Study Technical Report for the Enchi Gold Project, Ghana
