Canadian firm Endeavour Mining has announced that it will forge ahead with construction of a Carbon-in-Leach (“CIL”) plant at its Ity gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire.
The firm said the project is aimed at expanding the Ity mine by 14 years, based on current reserves of 2.9 million ounces, up by one million ounces since the latest feasibility study. According to Endeavour Mining the project requires an initial investment of $412 million.
In a statement Endeavour Mining chief executive Sébastien de Montessus said that once the CIL project is complete, the asset will produce about 144,000 ounces of gold annually for at least the first nine years, at a low all-in-sustaining costs of $507 per ounce.
The Ity mine has produced more than 1.2 million ounces of gold in its over 20 years of operations.
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The project is also an important link in Endeavour Mining’s plans to become an important mid-tier gold producer on the African continent.
Endeavour Mining shares up
And shares of Endeavour Mining (TSX:EDV) (OTCQX:EDVMF) went up more than 2.5% Wednesday when the firm officially announced of the plans to construct the CIL plant.
Endeavour continues to expand its portfolio in Africa and it now has counts of seven mines and projects in African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The company which focuses its operations on West Africa recently completed the acquisition of Avnel Gold Mining, which gives it an 80% stake in the Kalana gold project in Mali.
Last year, Endeavour recorded record gold output as it produced 584,000 ounces, or 13% more than in the previous financial year, with record-low all-in sustaining costs of $895 an ounce, down 3%. For 2017, it expects to generate between 600,000 and 640,000 ounces of gold.