Modern Mining June 2015

MINING IN AFRICA

could present a challenge to Ghana’s dominant position in the region’s gold mining industry. Its first gold mine, Taparko, opened in 2005 and has subsequently been joined by several more including Essakane, Mana, Kalsaka and Inata. In addition, there is a large artisanal mining industry in the country. Probably the next gold mines to come on line in Burkina Faso will be Yaramoko and Karma, which are being developed by Roxgold and True Gold Mining respectively, both listed on Canada’s TSX-V. Both projects have entered the construction phase and Roxgold reported at the end of May that it had received approval of its mining convention for the Yaramoko project. Commissioning of Yaramoko is expected in Q2 2016 while Karma expects to pour its first gold in March 2016. Yaramoko , which is costing US$110,8 mil- lion to develop, will be an underground mine with an estimated average annual gold produc- tion of nearly 100 000 ounces over an initial mine life of 7,4 years at an all-in sustaining cost of US$590/oz. The average mill feed grade is expected to be 11,59 g/t with the average gold recovery being 96,9 %. The EPC contractor tasked with delivering the 270 000 tonnes per year processing plant and related infrastruc- ture is a DRA/Group Five joint venture while the underground contractor is AUMS (African Underground Mining Services). True Gold’s Karma project is once again under construction after operations were temporarily suspended in January this year following opposition to the mine by some com- munity members (including artisanal miners) which resulted in demonstrations at the mine site and damage (amounting to approximately US$6 million) to equipment and infrastructure. Located 185 km north of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, Karma (see also page 53) is a technically simple open-pit, heap leach mine which will produce an average of 97 000 ounces a year over an eight-and-half-year mine life (although further phases of development are anticipated). The project has a capex of US$131,5 million with the estimated payback period being just 16 months. South Africa’s SENET is the EPCM contractor. The Houndé project of Canada’s Endeavour Mining, located 250 km south-west of Ouaga­ dougou, is also currently well advanced, with the mining permit having been issued in February this year and a mine construction plan in place. If given the go-ahead, Houndé will be developed as a large scale open-pit mine with the processing plant consisting of a 3 Mt/a grav- ity/CIL facility. It would produce 240 000 oz/a

for the first three years of a 10-year mine life. The capital cost is estimated at US$325 million. Endeavour, of course, is an experienced West African player. It already has a producing mine – Youga – in Burkina Faso and also operates the Agbaou, Nzema and Tabakoto mines in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Mali respectively. Another project at an advanced stage is Bomboré , located 85 km east of Ouagadougou, which is 100 % owned by Canada’s Orezone Gold Corp. The company’s executives have long experience of Burkina Faso, many of them having previously been involved with the development of the Essakane mine (commis- sioned in 2010 and now owned by IAMGOLD). The just completed feasibility study on the project envisions a shallow open-pit mining operation with a processing circuit that com- bines heap leaching and carbon-in-leach (CIL) without any grinding to process the soft and mostly free digging oxidised ores (with the sulphides to be exploited in a later phase of development). The 11-year mine plan is designed to deliver ‘higher’ grade ore in the early years (0,88 g/t over the first eight years of production at a strip ratio of 1:1). Gold production during the first eight years would be 135 000 ounces a year with lower grade stockpiles being processed in the final three years. Initial capital is estimated at US$250 million including contingencies. Orezone announced at the end of May this year that it had applied for a mining permit for the project. It is hoping to start construction early in 2016 with commissioning of the project expected in the second half of 2017. Liberia opening up Apart from Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, several other West African

The New Liberty mine in Liberia recently poured its first gold (photo: Aureus Mining).

If given the go- ahead, Houndé will be developed as a large scale open-pit mine with the processing plant consisting of a 3 Mt/a gravity/ CIL facility.

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June 2015  MODERN MINING  41