Endeavour Mining, a senior gold producer active in West Africa, has achieved first gold pour from the Sabodala-Massawa BIOX Expansion project in Senegal
The mining company acquired Sabodala-Massawa in 2021 as part of its acquisition of Teranga and holds a 90% stake in the mine, with the Government representing the other 10%. It is located approximately 630 km east-southeast of Dakar and consists of several open pit operations on the prospective Birimian Greenstone Belt. In April 2022, Endeavour began construction of the 1.2 Mtpa BIOX circuit to process the large refractory ore resource with first gold now being achieved on schedule and on budget with no lost time injuries.
“We are proud to have achieved our first gold pour at the Sabodala-Massawa BIOX Expansion with over 3.5 million man hours worked with no lost time injuries,” commented Ian Cockerill, CEO of Endeavour. “We have commissioned the project and delivered first gold in only two years, marking the fourth capital project that we have completed in the last 10 years. All of these have been completed in two years or less, and have been delivered on schedule, on budget and with no lost time injuries. This is a testament to the quality of our projects team and the competitive advantage we have in West Africa.”
Wet commissioning began at the end of February 2024 and, since then, approximately 50,000 tonnes of ore have been processed through the BIOX Expansion. The first gold pour from the gravity circuit yielded approximately 112 ounces of gold while the first pour from the BIOX circuit – completed soon after – yielded around 612 ounces.
“With the Sabodala-Massawa expansion successfully commissioned, we are now focussed on delivering the Lafigué project in the coming weeks, a full quarter ahead of schedule,” continued Cockerill. “The successful launch of both the Sabodala-Massawa expansion and the Lafigué project will further improve the quality of the portfolio, adding low-cost production and extending mine life visibility. The completion of the two projects underpins our transition to a more cash flow generative phase, from the second half of the year, when we will focus on enhancing shareholder returns and de-levering our balance sheet, as we continue to execute on our strategy.”
