Endeavour Mining’s completed pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the Assafou-Dibibango gold project in Cote d’Ivoire confirms the potential for the project to become a tier 1 asset, with an initially defined reserve of 4.1Moz, the company said on Wednesday.
After these encouraging results, the company’s next step will be to move onto a definitive feasibility study (DFS).
In an announcement on the London Stock Exchange, Endeavour said the PFS showed potential for Assafou to produce 329,000oz of gold a year at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $892/oz for the first ten years. Based on the maiden reserve estimate of 4.1Moz, the mine could have a 15-year life.
Endeavour owns mines in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. In the current year, it is expected to produce between 1.13 and 1.27Moz at an AISC of between $955 and $1,035/oz. Its goal is to produce 1.5Moz a year from a diverse portfolio of assets by the end of this decade.
Work is under way to delineate other targets on the wider Tanda-Iguela property.
The initial capital cost for developing Assafou and a 5Mtpa processing plant is estimated at $734m. CEO Ian Cockerill said that the attractive return profile ensured that Assafou would be a capital allocation priority for Endeavour.
Endeavour expects to complete the DFS by late 2025 or early 2026. At the same time, it would start the permitting process so that it is able to start construction in the second half of 2026, Cockerill said.
Endeavour’s share price jumped 1.87% on the news, despite a marginal decline in the gold price to $2693/oz.
