Modern Mining April 2016

GOLD

Construction kicks off at Endeavour Mining, listed on the TSX, has announced that its 90 %-owned Houndé gold project in Burkina Faso has entered the construction phase of its development. Houndé is expected to deliver an average production of 190 000 ounces per year over a 10-year mine life at an AISC of US$709/oz, based on current reserves. The project is an open-pit mine with a 3,0 Mt/a gravity circuit/CIL plant. The initial capital cost is estimated at US$328 million, inclusive of US$47 million for the owner-mining fleet.

while the operating and capital costs were fully scoped and optimised by Endeavour, with assistance from Lycopodium Minerals. Following cost and business risk compari- sons, the ‘Owner Operator’ option was selected over the ‘Contractor Mining’ approach. The fully scoped mining costs were revised upward mainly due to increased cost assumptions for ore re-handling, blasting and fixed cost re-allocation. All deposits are amenable to conventional open-pit mining methods and the pits are expected to reach depths of up to 175 m. The proposed mining fleet will have the capacity to move in excess of 35 Mt/a. During the optimisation process both the Run of Mine (ROM) pad and the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) were relocated to more favourable locations. Furthermore, the TSF was changed from basin to paddock style to opti- mise the usage of waste material and generate nearly US$25 million in reclamation and clo- sure cost savings. The processing costs estimate decreased due to the positive impacts of (i) reagents use optimisation; (ii) power demand optimisations; and (iii) relocation of the TSF, which more than

H oundé is located approximately 250 km or a three hour drive south-west of Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, and 25 km from a rail line which runs to Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire. The property is within the Houndé greenstone belt and just south of Semafo’s Mana mine. During the past year, a thorough review and optimisation of the project was completed and an implementation plan established. The mining and ore processing schedules have remained unchanged since February 2015

34  MODERN MINING  April 2016