Q1 2018 Highlights:
•Quarterly gold production of 48,229 ounces and gold sales of 48,899 ounces, in line with H1 2018 guidance of 90,000 – 100,000 ounces
•US$64.2 million in gold revenue at an average realized price of US$1,314 per ounce
•Nkran Cut 2 push back progressing ahead of schedule
•Record quarterly mill throughput of 1.27 million tonnes, demonstrating the processing plant’s ability to sustain throughput at newly upgraded levels of 5Mtpa
•Zero lost time injuries and industry-leading safety LTIFR record on a rolling 12 month of 0.
•Approximately US$43.2 million in unaudited cash and immediately convertible working capital balances as at March 31, 2018

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asanko Gold Inc. (“Asanko” or the “Company”) (TSX:AKG) (NYSE American:AKG) announces production results for the first quarter (“Q1”) of 2018 from the Asanko Gold Mine (“AGM”), located in Ghana, West Africa.

Commenting on the quarter Peter Breese, President and CEO, said, “This is the second consecutive quarter that the mine has performed ahead of the optimized Life of Mine Plan, which was introduced in late Q3 2017. The mine performed exceptionally well and is ahead of plan on the key metrics of gold production, grade and mill throughput. The enlarged Nkran push back is progressing ahead of schedule and the mill delivered yet another record milling performance, both for the quarter and for the month of March, which is very encouraging. We are on track to meet our plan and guidance for H1 2018.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire team for achieving our first year without any lost time injuries, this is a fantastic result and I’m pleased to see such diligent commitment by all our employees and contractors to working in a safe environment and ensuring every one of us goes home safely after each shift. ”

Health and Safety
There were no lost time injuries (“LTI”) reported during the quarter. On March 19, 2018, the mine achieved one year LTI-free with over 5,945,246 million man hours worked.

Production
During the quarter, the AGM sourced ore from Nkran, Akwasiso, Dynamite Hill and Nkran Extension as well as on-surface stockpiles. Mining operations at Nkran continued to focus on waste removal as part of the ongoing larger Cut 2 push back, with a consequent increase in the strip ratio. Gold grades for the quarter were lower, as expected, due to the lower ore yield from Nkran, and feeding lower grade surface stockpiles to the mill. Grade and gold production is expected to be biased towards the second half of the year when Cut 2 at Nkran will start delivering steady state levels of ore production, thereby reducing the dependence on stockpiles.

The processing plant achieved another quarterly record milling performance of 1.27 million tonnes, processing a monthly record of 432,410 tonnes in March, which is above the recently upgraded design of 5 million tonnes per annum throughput. Metallurgical recovery was slightly ahead of plan and continued to exceed design levels despite higher mill throughput and lower feed grade.


AGM Key Production Statistics Units Q2 2017 Q3 2017 Q4 2017 Q1 2018
Total Tonnes Mined 000 t 7,506 8,519 11,494 12,743
Waste Tonnes Mined 000 t 6,458 7,339 10,692 11,976
Ore Tonnes Mined 000 t 1,048 1,180 802 767
Strip Ratio W:O 6.2:1 6.2:1 13.3:1 15.7:1
Average Gold Grade Mined g/t 1.5 1.8 1.5 1.3
Ore Treated 000 t 887 862 1,087 1,269
Gold Feed Grade g/t 1.7 1.9 1.5 1.3
Gold Recovery % 94 94 94 93
Gold Produced oz 46,017 49,293 51,550 48,229


Sales and Liquidity
Gold production for the quarter was 48,229 ounces with gold sales of 48,899 ounces at an average realized price of US$1,314 per ounce, generating gold sales revenue of US$64.2 million. At March 31, 2018 the Company’s balance sheet held approximately US$38.9 million in unaudited cash, US$0.8 million in gold receivables and US$3.5 million in dore (with a market value of US$5.3 million).

Qualified Person Statement
Frederik Fourie, Asanko Senior Mining Engineer (Pr.Eng) is the Asanko Qualified Person, as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Mineral Disclosure), who has approved the preparation of the technical contents of this news release.