Akobo Minerals AB (publ) announced that it has reached a true milestone with the start of operations of its ultra-small plant and, with it, production of the company's first gold. The ultra-small plant began operation last week with already washed-out tailings from previous artisanal mining - and, surprisingly, actually extracted some gold. The next stage is to feed the plant with crushed and milled material from the locally sourced crushing machine which is also in operation.

From this point, there will be a step change in the volume of recovered gold, even before the main processing plant is initu. The decision was taken to have an ultra-small plant delivered from Solo Resources as a stop-gap measure while the main plant was en route from South Africa, following delays primarily due to electricity shortages in the country and cement shortages in Ethiopia. With a desire to ensure its first gold production target was met on-time, the small plant acquisition demonstrates how creative and nimble Akobo Minerals can be as it meets the challenge of operating in a developing nation.

In recent weeks, significant levels of operational activity have been ramp up on-site - from foundation work and construction to commissioning - to meet the demands of a company that is building towards full gold production shortly.