(Kitco News) - Near-record-high gold prices are helping to attract new attention to the mining sector as companies start to report solid first-quarter earnings. In what could be fantastic timing, Endeavour Mining plc (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV) announced the first pour from its Sabodala-Massawa BIOX® Expansion project.
The company said that the first gold pour from the gravity circuit was completed on 18 April 2024 and yielded approximately 112 ounces of gold; meanwhile, the first gold pour from the BIOX® circuit was completed on 28 April 2024 and yielded approximately 612 ounces.
“The BIOX® Expansion is expected to achieve commercial production in late Q2-2024 and ramp up to its stable nameplate capacity of 1.2Mtpa, in Q3-2024,” the company said.
The Sabodala-Massawa mine was acquired by Endeavour in February 2021, as part of its acquisition of Teranga. Endeavour owns a 90% stake in the Sabodala-Massawa mine, with the remaining 10% owned by the Government of Senegal. The project’s first pour comes two years after the expansion construction started. For FY-2024, Sabodala-Massawa is expected to produce between 360-400koz of gold at an AISC of between $750-850/oz.
“We have commissioned the project and delivered first gold in only two years, marking the fourth capital project that we have completed in the last ten years. All of these have been completed in two years or less, and have been delivered on schedule, on budget, and with no lost time injuries. This is a testament to the quality of our projects team and the competitive advantage we have in West Africa,” said Ian Cockerill, CEO of Endeavour, in a prepared statement. “With the Sabodala-Massawa expansion successfully commissioned, we are now focussed on delivering the Lafigué project in the coming weeks, a full quarter ahead of schedule. The successful launch of both the Sabodala-Massawa expansion and the Lafigué project will further improve the quality of the portfolio, adding low-cost production and extending mine life visibility. The completion of the two projects underpins our transition to a more cash flow generative phase, from the second half of the year, when we will focus on enhancing shareholder returns and de-levering our balance sheet, as we continue to execute on our strategy.”
Along with the expanded production, Endeavour has also embarked on an aggressive exploration program at Sabodala-Massawa, with a guided spend of $21 million, or 31% of total Group exploration expenditure for the year.
“The exploration programme is focussed on converting existing resources to reserves and expanding non-refractory and refractory resources for the existing CIL processing plant and the new BIOX® Expansion, respectively. The exploration programme remains on track to achieve its 5-year target of discovering an additional 2.3 - 2.7Moz of Indicated resources by the end of 2025,” The company said.
Neils Christensen
Neils Christensen has a diploma in journalism from Lethbridge College and has more than a decade of reporting experience working for news organizations throughout Canada. His experiences include covering territorial and federal politics in Nunavut, Canada. He has worked exclusively within the financial sector since 2007, when he started with the Canadian Economic Press. Neils can be contacted at: 1 866 925 4826 ext. 1526 nchristensen at kitco.com @KitcoNewsNOW
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