WEST African Resources has forecast 2021 gold production of between 250,000 to 280,000 ounces (oz) from its Sanbrado mine in West Africa’s Burkina Faso which would be mined at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of between $720 to $800 per oz.
It began producing from Sanbrado during 2020 achieving gold output of about 50,000 oz of gold in the fourth quarter.
“Long-term planning on updated resources has delivered a 10-year production outlook set to average over 200,000 of gold per annum from 2021 to 2030,” said Richard Hyde, executive chairman and CEO of West African Resources in a statement on Tuesday. Drilling and the acquisition last year from B2Gold of the Toega deposit had grown the company’s resource base by 65% to over five million oz of gold, he said.
The AISC is higher than per West African Resources’ feasibility study of Sanbrado as it would pay a higher gold royalty to the Burkinabe government as a result of an increase in the dollar gold price.
It had included head office corporate costs in the AISC which had the impact of adding $15 to $20/oz. AISC increased by $30 to $35/oz owing to site administration costs linked to security management, insurance fees and bank charges. Cost increases also flowed through from higher community-related investment.
Burkina Faso has been plagued by security incursions, largely owing to the presence of growing numbers of jihadists in the Sahel region.
In November 2019, a convoy of five buses travelling to the Boungou mine owned by Canadian firm SEMAFO – since bought by Endeavour Mining – was attacked. It resulted in the murder of 39 people whilst 60 others were injured.
France, which once governed Burkina Faso, backtracked on plans to pull its forces from the region although it has kept the matter on review amid a lack of enthusiasm for joint security operations among its European Union allies.
