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Endeavour Mining (TSX, LON: EDV) has kicked off construction at its 80%-owned Lafigué gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, which is expected to begin production in the third quarter of 2024.
The $448 million project, located on the Fetekro property, adds to a long list of activities the London-based miner has undertaken this year. These include the Sabodala-Massawa expansion project in Senegal, and the construction of a recyanidation circuit at its cornerstone Ity operation, also in in Côte d’Ivoire.
Based on the recently completed definitive feasibility study (DFS), Lafigué will produce in average 203,000 ounces of gold a year, at an all-in sustaining cost of $871 per ounce over a 12.8-year mine life.
The company’s chief executive, Sébastien de Montessus, said the mine would be “a cornerstone” for the company, allowing it to enhance the group’s geographical diversification.
“We are ideally positioned to launch the construction of Lafigué, given our net cash position, the continued strong performance of our operations, and our success in de-risking the Sabadola-Massawa expansion with a significant portion of the capital already committed on-budget,” he said in the statement.
De Montessus added the company was already seeing reduced inflationary pressures and favourable foreign exchange rates, compared to earlier in the year.
“For a modest exploration investment of $31-million, which represents a discovery cost of $12/oz, we have added a new cornerstone asset to our portfolio,” Executive VP for exploration and growth, Patrick Bouisset, said.
“To continue to source our projects organically, we have increased our greenfield exploration efforts, which, over recent months, have resulted in significant success at our Tanda-Iguela property in Côte d’Ivoire, where we expect to publish a maiden resource later this year,” Bouisset said.
The company has forecast full year production of between 1.32 million and 1.4 million ounces of gold for 2022 at all-in sustaining costs of $880 to $930 per ounce.
