Endeavour Mining has kicked off the wet commissioning phase of its Lafigué gold project in Côte d’Ivoire and is eyeing next month for its first gold pour.
The senior miner, which has operating assets in Senegal and Burkina Faso as well, said overall construction activities are 94% complete and the project remains on budget. The first ore was introduced to the crushing and milling circuits on 24 May.
The mine’s ore stockpiles are currently sitting at 1.6 million tonnes with an average gold grade of 1.30g/t, containing around 65,000 ounces of gold. The company is anticipating production in fiscal year 2024 of between 90,000 and 110,000 oz.
“Lafigué is set to become another cornerstone asset in Endeavour’s portfolio; with over 200 koz of annual production…over its initial 13-year mine life,” Endeavour Mining CEO Ian Cockerill said.
“Given its potential, we expedited the necessary technical studies before launching construction in Q4 2022 and we have now started wet commissioning at the project in only 21 months from construction launch, and we continue to track ahead of schedule for first gold in late June.”
Endeavour has an 80% ownership stake in Lafigué (with 10% owned by the Ivorian government and 10% owned by SODEMI, a state-owned mining company).
Source: Endeavour Mining