CONSTRUCTION of Endeavour Mining’s carbon-in-leach (CIL) project at its Ity mine in Côte d’Ivoire was 97% complete, the Toronto-listed company said, adding that budget hadn’t been exceeded and it was tracking two months ahead of schedule.
As part of the project remit, the resettlement of a local community had been completed whilst on the construction side, a 90kV transmission line and back-up station had also been completed.
Ity is expected to produce between 160,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold in the current financial year at an all-in sustaining cost of between $525 to $590 per ounce. First gold would be poured in the second quarter of this year.
Endeavour Mining, which also operates in Burkina Faso and Mali, said that an aggressive exploration programme on tenements next to current operations at Ity was also underway.
Endeavour said in January that it had achieved production for the 2018 financial year of 612,000 oz, an increase of 52% year-on-year and in excess of 2018 guidance. This was achieved at AISC of $712/oz, some 13% better than the third quarter and well below the $760 to $810/oz guidance.
