Modern Mining November 2018

MINING News

Ity CIL project tracking two months early

commenced three months earlier than initially planned. Structural, mechanical, piping and electrical installation work is well underway. Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) earth- works are progressing well against schedule with over 70 % completed and rubber lining has commenced. The 90 kV transmission line and 29 MWpower station construction are progressing well and first power drawdown is expected in Q1-2019. More than 2 800 personnel, includ- ing contractors, are currently employed on site, approximately 90 % of whom are locals. The Ity CIL project commenced con- struction in September 2017 and is being carried out by Endeavour’s in-house team following their successful completion of the Houndé and Agbaou projects. The Optimisation Study, published in September 2017, demonstrated the sig- nificant potential of Ity, which has already been in operation for more than 20 years, to become another flagship asset for Endeavour. The project is expected to pro- duce approximately 204 000 ounces of gold annually for the first 10 years. Endeavour operates five mines across Côte d’Ivoire (Agbaou and Ity), Burkina Faso (Houndé and Karma) and Mali (Tabakoto) which are expected to pro- duce 670-720 koz in 2018 at an AISC of US$840‑890/oz.  “The first quarter was a good start to our financial year and it is pleasing that the positive operational momentum from the previous quarter was maintained,” com- ments Paul Bosma, Firestone’s CEO. “We held one sale during the quarter which was impacted by lower average values realised for the smaller, lower quality ROM stones. However, from a total revenue perspective, the impact was partly offset by higher sales volumes. We completed our second sale of the financial year post the quarter end and, pleasingly, the strong demand for our special stones offset the continued pricing pressure on the ROM stones, resulting in an improved average value realised of US$79 per carat. “During October we also recovered our largest stone to date, a 326-carat near-gem diamond which provides further evidence of Liqhobong’s large stone potential and, importantly, the ability of the treatment plant to recover larger stones intact.” 

The Ity CIL plant under construction (photo: Endeavour).

Endeavour Mining Corporation, listed on the TSX, reports that construction of its Ity Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) project in Côte d’Ivoire is tracking two months ahead of schedule and remains on budget. The first gold pour is now expected to occur in early Q2-2019 rather than mid-2019 as previ- ously planned. “I’d like to thank the construction team for their hard work and excellent progress achieved so far,” comments Sébastien de Montessus, Endeavour’s President & CEO. “Completing the construction sooner is expected to result in material improve- ment to our 2019 free-cash flow generation potential as Ity CIL will be a low-cost opera- tion with AISC expected to be below US$500/oz over its first five years.” Jeremy Langford, COO & Executive

Vice-President Projects, adds: “The experi- ence that our in-house construction team has gained from our previous builds in the region, the early installation of the ball and SAG mills, combined with the excellent progress made during the rainy season, have been key factors which have helped advance the Ity CIL construction ahead of schedule. We are also particularly pleased with the continued strong safety track recordwith zero lost-time incidents to date.” Overall project completion stands at over 75 %. Nearly all of the US$412 million initial capital cost has been committed and approximately 65 % has been spent (inclu- sive of drawn equipment financing). The process plant construction is over 70 % complete, tracking ahead of sched- ule as the ball and SAG mill installation were sold at the recent tender which realised an average value of US$79 per carat. A combination of cost savings and con- tinued local currency weakness against the US dollar resulted in a decrease in the operating costs for the quarter to US$10,05 per tonne treated (Q4 FY18: US$10,98 per tonne treated) including waste stripping, well below the guidance range of between US$15 and US$16 per tonne treated. Work on the mine plan continued dur- ing the quarter to consider the viability of extending the life of mine. The company recorded its first lost time injury during the three-month period after having worked a total of 6,7 million man- hours since project commencement in July 2014. Fortunately, the incident was not too serious with the employee returning to work three days later.

Liqhobong maintains its positive momentum AIM-listed Firestone Diamonds, which operates the Liqhobong diamond mine in Lesotho, reports that the mine recovered 240 733 carats at a grade of 23,8 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) during the quarter ended 30 September 2018 (Q1 of the com- pany’s 2019 financial year). This compared to 263 512 carats at a grade of 25,7 cpht in Q4 FY2018.

Waste stripping of Cut 2 south com- menced during the quarter. New access roads and excavation platforms were established against the steep southern flank of the valley. Waste mining tonnages are planned to increase during the year as more working space is established. During the quarter, 114 special stones (plus 10,8 carats) were recovered (Q4 FY18: 114 stones). The average quality and size improved in September with the recovery of several better quality diamonds which

8  MODERN MINING  November 2018