Endeavour Mining Corporation’s 85 per cent-owned Agbaou Gold Project in Côte dIvoire has entered its construction phase
The Canadian mining giant will shell out US$159 million on construction costs, mining costs, working capital and contingencies for the project.
The average gold production of the mine for eight years is likely to be 103,000 ounces per year.
"The Agbaou project is expected to stand in the top quartile of all potential gold projects across the globe," said Endeavour Mining Corporation chief executive officer Neil Woodyer.
"The engineering optimisations being used in it include a 12 per cent increase in plant capacity and an updated mineral resource estimate. These improvements have allowed us to increase the average annual gold production by 40 per cent."
Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd is the engineering, procurement, and construction management contractor in the project, which is expected to achieve production by the first quarter of 2014.
The operations will be based on conventional open pit mining techniques using hydraulic excavators and rear-dump trucks. All waste material from the excavation area will be hauled to the external waste dump adjacent to operational pits.
Côte d'Ivoire's Mines, Petroleum and Energy Ministry has given the green signal to Endeavour Mining to continue its efforts in Agbaou, however, an official receipt of the permit is pending.
The mining firm has achieved significant gold exploration at Agbaou in 2012 and the recent efforts have been directed at increasing the resource and expanding business in the region.
An attempt to start the Agbaou project was first made in 2009 with a project feasibility study, which was later optimised in 2011 by a team of consultants appointed by Endeavour.
