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Côte d'Ivoire is a mineral-rich country of over 322,000 square kilometers that is almost entirely underlain by the same prospective gold-rich Archean and Lower Proterozoic (Birimian) formations that extend into Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso. Agbaou Gold ProjectThe Agbaou Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire is Etruscan's most advanced project after Youga. The property covers 469 km2, giving Etruscan control of the 40 kilometer strike length of the Agbaou Gold Belt. Agbaou is a feasibility stage project and one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in Côte d'Ivoire. The Agbaou Gold Project is situated approximately 200 kilometers northwest of the port city of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire. The Project is readily accessible by paved highway and is within 10 kilometers of the national power grid. The Agbaou permit was granted to Etruscan in November 2003. Etruscan will have an 85% interest in the mining company established to develop Agbaou with the remaining 15% being held by the State of Côte d'Ivoire. A feasibility study of the Agbaou Project was completed in November 2008 by MDM International Engineering Ltd. and subsequently updated in October 2009 using a US$1,000 per ounce gold price. The Updated Feasibility Study concludes that Agbaou will produce an average of 77,000 ounces per annum over a 9.1 year mine life from a reserve base of 10.9 million tonnes with an average grade of 2.1 grams per tonne (731,000 oz). The reserve estimation was completed by Coffey Mining in accordance with National Instrument 43-101. The study proposes open pit mining of three pits using an owner operated mining fleet with the ore being processed through a conventional gravity-CIL plant with a design capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum. The average gold recovery is 91% and the strip ratio is 7:1. Capital costs are estimated at US$106 million and the Company is reviewing options to further reduce these costs. The Company has applied for a mining permit from the Ivorian administration which is pending.
Agbaou Resource and Reserve An independent National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate was prepared by Coffey Mining in February 2008 and at a cutoff grade of 0.5 g/t is summarized as follows:
Additional Exploration on the Agbaou Permit Reconnaissance diamond drilling in proximity to the Agbaou gold deposit has identified three potential satellite deposits within 600 meters of the Agbaou deposit. Reconnaissance drilling to the north of the main deposit has also identified significant gold intersections. These results provide the potential to expand the known resources in the immediate vicinity of the gold plant at Agbaou. Other Permits in Côte d'IvoireCôte d'Ivoire remains the most under-explored country in West Africa in spite of the fact that over 300,000 km2 is underlain by prospective Birimian and Archaean terranes. Many of the proven gold belts in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana converge into Côte d'Ivoire and yet, apart from the 4.4 million ounce Tongon deposit slated for development by Randgold, there have been surprisingly few multi-million ounce discoveries. Etruscan recognized the opportunity to make strategic permit applications at a time when its competitors were not active in the country. Etruscan presently holds four exploration permits and has other applications pending covering over 9,000 square kilometers in a number of other gold belts outside of Agbaou. Maps and Photos
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