"From the outset of our acquisition of the Bibiani Gold Mine, Asante has made a number of commitments to our stakeholders, including the local community, the Government of Ghana and our investors. We are proud that all of the commitments we made in the past 10 months relating to the Bibiani Gold Mine have been met or exceeded, up to this time," Asante's CEO Dave Anthony said.

Asante has been praised by analysts for the speed in which it has progressed the Bibiani mine, which it acquired in August 2021 from Resolute Mining for a total cash consideration of US$90 million.

The company noted that hot commissioning of the gold refinery was completed on July 7, which is the final operating area of the process plant to be commissioned.

"Scale up of production is continuing as planned, including collection of gold on carbon, leading to delivery of approximately 175,000 ounces gold over the next 12 months," Asante said.

The plan is to ramp up production to 220,000oz/y for year two, and 200,000-255,000oz/y for years three to eight.

On April 14, Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets analyst Kevin MacKenzie said: "With a new management team, an expected >200,000oz/y from Bibiani, and the potential acquisition of a neighboring operation, the ‘New Asante' is rapidly transitioning from an explorer/developer to the industry's newest mid-tier producer".

He noted that there are "multiple levels of exploration upside" which he expects will contribute to a "material" life of mine extension.

"Asante, led by President and CEO Dave Anthony, is backed by a proven team of mine operators, each of whom has extensive experience in West Africa," MacKenzie said, noting that Anthony held the position of chief operating officer of African Barrick Gold, and was previously involved in the design, construction, optimization, and operation of 12 mines.

Asante's share price was C$1.42 (US$1.09) on July 7. The company has a market capitalization of C$447.35 million.