ENDEAVOUR Mining has suspended underground mining at its Mana gold mine in Burkina Faso after part of an access ramp subsided, restricting access to two underground portals.
The incident occurred on October 28 on the ramp leading to the depleted Wona open pit, affecting access to the Dangouna and Aviera portals. No one was injured and all underground workers were evacuated.
Mining at all three active underground portals has been halted while Endeavour carries out geotechnical analysis and assesses remediation work.
The company said the Wona portal remained accessible and it was considering restarting and accelerating mining there as part of efforts to limit the effect on production.
Endeavour said it remained on track to meet its 2026 group production and all-in sustaining cost forecasts. It will give an update on the remediation plan when it reports third-quarter results on November 12.
Mana produced 173,000 ounces (oz) of gold in 2025 and is forecast to produce between 155,000 oz and 180,000 oz this year. The mine shifted to a fully underground operation in 2024 and Endeavour is aiming to extend its life beyond 10 years by expanding underground deposits and assessing nearby open-pit targets.
Endeavour produces about 1.2 million oz of gold a year across its West African operations and spends more than $100m annually on exploration.
CEO Ian Cockerill said at the FT Mining Summit last month that finding replacement ounces remained difficult, with newly mined gold supply growing by less than 1% a year in recent years.
He said only nine significant gold discoveries had been made globally since 2020, while bringing new mines into production could take 15 to 16 years in much of the world.
West Africa had an advantage in this respect, he said, with Endeavour cutting the period from discovery to first gold to about eight years.
The disruption comes as Endeavour continues to manage a changing operating environment in Burkina Faso, where it also owns the Houndé mine.
Cockerill said in July that conditions in the country had become more stable over the previous six to nine months and that the government appeared to be more in control.
That relative stability is significant for Endeavour given the importance of Burkina Faso to its portfolio and its broader focus on West Africa, even as the region continues to carry political and regulatory risk.
However, the government has taken a more interventionist approach to mining. MiningMX previously reported that it had required mine supplies to be sourced through a state-owned company, a move Cockerill described as initially disruptive.