TORONTO, Oct. 16, 2018 /CNW/ - Roxgold Inc. ("Roxgold" or the "Company") (TSX: ROXG) (OTC: ROGFF) is pleased to announce its 2018 third quarter ("Q3") and first nine month ("YTD 2018") production results from the Company's Yaramoko Gold mine located in Burkina Faso ("Yaramoko").

Highlights:
•30,532 ounces of gold produced in Q3 driven by record quarterly processing throughput of 78,357 tonnes – 15% above nameplate capacity
•106,812 ounces of gold produced YTD 2018 which puts the Company in a strong position to achieve the upper end of its guidance range of 120,000 – 130,000 ounces for the full 2018 year
•Receipt of all permits and decrees required for Bagassi South mining and the process plant expansion
•Construction works at Bagassi South continue on schedule and remains on track for delivery of first ore in late Q4 2018
•Operating seven drill rigs currently at Yaramoko targeting extensions to the 55 Zone – six from surface and one from underground


"We continue to see consistently solid operating performance at Yaramoko with gold production of 106,812 ounces for the first nine months, positioning us well to meet the upper-end of our 2018 guidance range of producing between 120,000 to 130,000 ounces. With ongoing optimization activities at the plant, this quarter also saw record quarterly throughput representing 15% above nameplate capacity," stated John Dorward, President and CEO of Roxgold. "Our Bagassi South expansion project continues to make excellent progress as both the construction of the process plant expansion and mine development at Bagassi South, our second high-grade underground gold mine, continue to be on schedule with first ore expected by the end of the year."

Operating Highlights:

The 55 Zone produced 87,975 tonnes of ore at 10.74 g/t Au along with completing 1,221 metres of development. In Q3, approximately 80% of ore produced came from stoping activities as a result of extensive development with four open stopes available at the end of the quarter. The plant processed record throughput of 78,357 tonnes at an average head grade of 12.3 g/t Au for the quarter. Plant availability was 94.9% and overall recovery was 98.5% during the quarter. Importantly, the unit throughput rate at the plant has steadily increased over the last six quarters as a result of ongoing optimisation to be at 15% above nameplate capacity for Q3.

During the quarter, decline development reached the 4947 level, approximately 370 metres below surface. Ore development was completed on the 4998, 4981 and 4964 levels.

At the end of the quarter, the ROM stocks were 43,511 tonnes at 11.59 g/t Au representing approximately six weeks of plant feed.

Q3 2018 Q3 2017 YTD 2018 YTD 2017
Total Development (metres) 1,479 1,730 4,040 2,688
Ore mined (tonnes) 87,975 76,480 263,412 211,761
Ore processed (tonnes) 78,357 66,670 225,350 195,784
Head grade (g/t) 12.3 13.6 14.4 14.5
Recovery (%) 98.5 98.6 98.7 98.9
Gold ounces produced 30,532 28,410 106,812 91,970

Bagassi South Expansion Project Update

During the quarter, the Company continued to advance the Bagassi South expansion project. Highlights from the work plan of Q3 2018 include:
•Receipt of all permits and decrees required for Bagassi South mining and the process plant expansion
•Development and construction progressing well with overall project completion currently at approximately 70%
•Commencement of mine development with approximately 258 metres completed to date
•Mobilization of contractor personnel and equipment for the construction of the ventilation shaft is well underway
•Completion of all structural steelwork and fabrication of CIL tanks
•Commencement of processing plant tie-ins which are expected to occur largely within planned maintenance stoppages in Q4
•Completion of overall project expected in the latter part of Q4; preliminary commissioning planning is underway


Exploration Update

55 Zone
Drilling activities continued on the 55 Zone during Q3. An 11,000 metre underground diamond drilling infill program is in progress at the 55 Zone between the 5151 and 4900 levels, with a single rig drilling from level 4947. In Q3, 3,342 metres were completed. This drilling program is planned to infill to an approximate 25 metre by 25 metre spacing and will continue into Q4.

Surface drilling also continued at 55 Zone during the quarter with a total of six diamond rigs operating. This is part of a 24,000 metre surface diamond drilling program that commenced in Q2 focusing on infilling the current resource and targeting the eastern and western boundaries of the deeper 55 Zone. 15,315 metres were completed during the quarter with completion of the program scheduled for the middle of Q4.

Bagassi South
Drilling activity also continued at Bagassi South. The program at Bagassi South focused on extending the QV1 western shoot and upgrading inferred resources on the QV1 and QV Prime structures. The program was completed in Q3 with 13 holes drilled for 2,708 metres. Further follow on drilling is planned for Q4 to test for further down plunge extensions in the QV1 western shoot.

Regional
A total of 2,098 metres were drilled for regional exploration during Q3. This drilling was undertaken on structural targets south of Bagassi and completed the regional targeting program for the quarter.

A total of approximately 15,000 metres of Auger drilling has been completed in 2018, around the Houko and Kaho prospects. Interpretations on the Houko Central and Kaho areas were undertaken in Q3 with drill planning underway to test multiple targets in Q4 including a recently identified 1.5km north-west trending anomaly at Kaho.

The Company plans to release its updated exploration results with its third quarter 2018 financial results, which are expected to be released after market hours on November 13, 2018. Conference call and webcast details for the third quarter financial results will be released closer to the date.

Upcoming Catalysts

Q4 – Plant expansion and infrastructure construction completion
Q4 – First ore from Bagassi South
Q4 – Commencement of Kaho drilling campaign
Q4 – Commencement of Bagassi South follow up drilling
Q4 – Completion of 55 Zone resource development program

Qualified Persons

Iain Cox, FAUSIMM, Interim Chief Operating Officer for Roxgold Inc., a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, has verified and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. This includes the QA/QC, sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information. For more information on the Company's QA/QC and sampling procedures, please refer to the Company's AIF dated March 28, 2018.
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